New Dawn
by WhokilledmyRabbit
Summary: High school drama. Kisame and Kakuzu becomes the new members of their little group. Though Itachi and Hidan are struggling with the new affection they can’t deny. KisaIta & KakuHidan. LOTS OF FLUFF.
1. Prolouge

_Just a little note from me~ I started this when my English was far beyond as good as it is now, so please don't judge it be the lame beginning, thank you~_

**PROLOUGE**

The schizophrenic had just entered to school building when he felt someone glomp him from behind.

"Zetsu-saaan! I've missed you soooo much!" The masked boy said and hugged him.

"Tobi, get off me. **Or I'll kill you.**" Zetsu said as he tried to free himself from the clinging boy.

"But-but…" Tobi whined. "Didn't you miss me too, Zetsu-san?"

He managed to get Tobi off and then gently pet him on the head.

"Of course I did, but you need to be a good boy and behave now when we are starting high school."

He nodded eagerly "You think the others are here yet!!??"

"They better be…"

_________________________________________________________________

A motorcycle arrived outside the big white school and the red-haired teen took off his helmet. _So this is the place huh? I wonder where-_

"DANNA!!!!"

There he was.  
The blonde boy came running towards Sasori and pulled his arms around his neck, giving him a hard hug. He sighed.

"Geez Deidara, you don't wanna start gay rumors on the first day will ya?"

The blonde smirked. "That wouldn't be entirely wrong, would it?"

Sasori took Deidaras hands and released himself from the tight embrace.

"I don't want the other children to bully you, little Dei-chan" he laughed and ran a hand trough his hair. Deidara pouted. "Seriously though, you're lucky you aren't in a girl uniform 'cause then you would definitely be raped".

"Shut up Danna!" Deidara said, crossed his arms and grumbled. "… You wouldn't let that happen anyway, un."

Sasori laughed tenderly and gave him a really quick kiss on the forehead.

"Of course I wouldn't."

_________________________________________________________________

Soon Sasori and Deidara met up with Zetsu and Tobi in the hallway.

"DEIDARA-SEMPAI! SASORI-SAN! YOU GAYS MADE IT!" Tobi shouted happily and hugged them both.

Sasori gave out a frustrated growl. "Why wouldn't we?" he muttered, annoyed by the obtrusive boy.

"Have you seen Pein and Konan yet?" Deidara asked.

"Boo." A dark voice said from behind, making them all jump in chock.

"Waaaah, Pein you meany! Don't scare us!" Tobi said and hasty moved over to Konan for a hug.

She smiled happily "Hi guys!"

"Hi Konan, un!" Deidara grinned.

"Let's see… Looks like everyone is here except for Hidan and Itachi, have you guys seen them?" The blue haired female asked and looked around trying to scan the area.

"No, not yet…" Deidara started but then saw the jashinist come walking trough the hallway. "Oh, there's Hidan, un!" He raised his hands and waved. Hidan made a bitter face and walked up to them.

"Hiya, fuckers!" He said with a damned look on his face.

"What's wrong with you?" The Akasuna asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Pfhe, had a fucking lousy morning. The dammed alarm clock was broken so I woke up 15 fucking minutes ago!"

"Hidan-sempai, be a good boy and don't swear so much" The masked boy pleaded.

"Shut up you! I do as I fucking want!"

Pain coughed loudly and everyone became quiet, turning their head to face their leader.

"Ehem, I was thinking. If you people wish to continue with this so called organization this year we need to make a few things clear..."

"But Pein-san, Itachi-san hasn't made it here yet..." Tobi started.

"Who knows he's even coming..." Konan sighed.

"Itachi won't do any trouble. He rarely even does anything anyway… May I continue?"

The group nodded. Pein gave out a small sigh.

"OK, for the first! We need to win these bastards respect so I won't accept any of you to be pushed around by ANYONE! That includes you Tobi – stay close to Zetsu and behave!"

"Tobi will be a good boy and obey Pein-sans' rules!" Tobi tilted his head to the side and smiled behind the mask. Pein looked in disappointment at him. _Why did I even let this idiot join us..? _

"For the second" He continued. "It wasn't my intention to be the leader of a squad of homos… I know almost everyone off you are gay. I will absolutely not accept you to show of your nature here in public! Don't think I didn't saw you to this morning..." He glared coldly at Sasori and Deidara. Sasoris face remained in the bored calm expression while Deidara tried ever so hard not to blush.

"But Pein, honey…" Konan pleaded and pulled his arm, looking sad.

"No."

"But…"

"But Pein-sama!!!" Tobi waved with his hand up in the air like he wanted the teachers' permission to talk. "Itachi is not gay!"

"We don't know that Tobi, un." Deidara said. "He has never told anyone his sexual preference."

"It wouldn't surprise me if he was tough..." Sasori stated.

"EXUSE ME! Who the fuck said I was gay!?" Hidan shouted. All eyes turned to him in disbelief.

"Hidan… You hate all girls, un."

"… Well I hate EVERYONE! Girls are no fucking exceptions!"

"That means Hidan-san is gay?" Tobi grinned.

"ANYWAY!" Pein interrupted.

"BUT PEIN-SAMA!!!" Tobi said still hands waving in the air. Pein looked like he was about to have mental breakdown.

"WHAT TOBI!?"

"I-I-I was just thinking…" the boy stuttered. "We need a place to meet up in!"

"Yeeaah, like a base, un."

"Well, how about Pein and Konans place?" Hidan smirked.

Pein shoot of an evil glare.

"Good idea!" Sasori said.

"Yeah, our place is big enough for all of you" Konan smiled.

"ABSOLUTLY NOT!" Pein shouted.

"I think it's a good idea!"

"Me too."

"Me too."

"Me too."

"ME TOO!!"

"Then it's settled!" Konan said and smiled at Pein who let out a frustrated growl.

The main entrance was suddenly opened and a dark figured walked in to the school. With hands in his pockets he moved quietly trough the building, eyes fully focused on the floor in front of him. Tobi was the first one to catch the sight of him.

"ITACHI-SAN!!! DEAR COUSIN, YOU CAME!!!" He ran against the weasel with his arms out but then suddenly stopped. The weasel stared at him with a death glare and Tobi slowly backed away.

"I-I-I mean, glad you could make it!"

Itachi remained silent but walked up to the group. Pein started to talk again.

"OK, so if I got it right Tobi, Zetsu, Deidara and Sasori will be in the same class. Hidan, you and Itachi are in the same. And as for me and Konan, we will be entering our second year here. We can meet up with you guys at lunch and breaks-"

Pein was once again interrupted but this time by the strong clangorous sound of the school bell ringing.

"Of we go then Danna, un!" Deidara grabbed Sasori's hand and run off.

"Aaaah, sempai wait!!! Come on Zetsu-san!!!" Tobi said and ran after to catch up with the blonde.

"Idiots..."

"Why in the name of jashin did you even let them join then!?"

"I have no idea…"


	2. Chapter 1

**Part 1**

Hidan and Itachi's first class was in history. Hidan had got one of the benches in the front of the classroom. He was in a sulky mood and was sitting with his head resting in his hands. He could come up with a million ways to kill or torture the extremely annoying teacher in front of him. The later option would definitely be more interesting…

Itachi had decided not to listen and leaned closer to the window, observing the outside area. Even tough it was late summer the wind was blowing violently outside. The weasel took in the sight of the wind blowing against the threes, making the leaf dance around.  
He was happy that he had the luck to get a bench next to a window. As opposed to Hidan who simply didn't care about learning anything, Itachi was smart and didn't really have to listen at classes. He always managed to pass the test anyway.

After what seemed like an eternity to Hidan the teacher finally declared the class to be over and all student rose from their seats to exit the room. Hidan peeked over his shoulder at Itachi who made no intention to move away from his seat. _Pfhe... Bastard can as well stay. I've got a whole fucking school to explore! _The masochist thought as he ran off.

Itachi waited yet a minute and continued to watch the outside before he finally left his chair. There were still some students left in the classroom. As he was about to walk out of the room an arm reached out and blocked his way.

"Hi there, beautiful!" Itachi looked up and saw a taller, brown-haired man smirking at him.

"Move" The weasel said coldly, no expression on his face.

"Hey, don't be rude, I just gave you a complement."

Itachi knew he obviously couldn't put up with a fight. The man was way bigger then him and to be honest, Itachi wasn't much of a fighter. In fact, he was really weak and could easily be beaten up. He decided to just make an attempt to escape but failed miserably, the boy refused to move.

"My name is Kuro Takana. What's yours, cutie?" He moved himself a little closer to Itachi.

"Beat it, asshole." Itachi said and tried to move Korus' arm out of his way. The bigger man started to get annoyed and then grabbed the collar of Itachi's shirt.

"Hey, nobody speaks to me that way…" He lifted the small weasel up so they were face to face, then he moved closer to his ear. "Do you even know who I am?" he whispered.  
"I. Don't. Care, fuckface." The raven-haired man said, still emotionless. Kuro hasty withdrew and lifted him up higher, clenching his teeth together.

"You're asking for it!" He growled and harmless threw Itachi away from him. Itachi closed his eyes together hard, prepared himself to hit the stone floor when he felt an arm catch him, preventing the fall.  
He slowly opened his eyes and looked with surprised up at the man who had caught him.

"Hey, Takana! Take it easy!" The blue man growled.

"Shut up, Hoshigaki!" Kuro shouted and stormed towards the exit. "We'll meet again sometime, pretty boy" He gave Itachi an evil smirk before he disappeared from the room.

The blue skinned man carefully helped Itachi up. "You OK?". When Itachi got onto his feet he noticed that he had to tilt his head up to face the man in front of him. Whoa, he was WAY taller then himself.

"Hmm..." Itachi mumbled, trying to regain his posture.

"Kuro is a fucking bastard" The shark growled. "You should really try to stay away from him, you know".

Itachi snorted "I kind of figured that out…"

The shark chuckled, grabbed his bag and walked past Itachi. "Later."

Itachi stood perfectly still for a moment then suddenly spun around "W-Wait..." The bigger man stopped and turned his head with a wondering look.

"What?"

"..… Thanks." The weasel said quietly and looked away.

The shark laughed. "No problem." He said before he left.

________________________________________________________________

"Hidan, where's Itachi, un?" Deidara asked while picking the so called food on his tray.

"How the hell should I know?" Hidan answered, mouth filled with food.

"You're in the same class, un!"

"What if he's lost!!!" Tobi cried.

"Tobi, Itachi is not a baby, he won't get lost." Zetsu said to relax the masked boy.

Hidan made a load swallow and forced the food down his throat. "Well the bastard decided he rather wanted to watch the fucking outside! Stop bugging me, I don't know where the fuck he is!"

Just as he finished the sentence the weasel sat down on the chair next to them.

"Where have you been, un?"

"Classroom."

No one made any effort to ask him more questions. By a couple years of experience they all knew Itachi didn't spoke unless he had to. And any questions he was asked where always short answered. If they even managed to get a respond…

"Itachi-san, you ain't gonna eat anything?" Tobi asked.

He shook his head. "Not hungry".

Konan suddenly entered the cafeteria and ran forward to the table were they all were gathered around.

"Hey, guys?" All off the faces turned to her. "Ehem, you see, Pein's in an extremely bad mood so he went home and I think I'll go after him. But feel free to come over later! Gotta run, see ya!" The blue haired woman was gone as quickly as she had come.

"Pfhe" Hidan snorted with a smirk. "We are SO raiding their place later!"

"Yeah!" (Almost) Everyone agreed.

"Come on, Deidara we need to go." Sasori said, pulling the blonde with him on the way up. They both took off to leave their trays.

"Tobi, come, lets go too." Zetsu said and rised.

"Well, we might as well take off too." Hidan sighed and left the table.

As he were about to abandon the tray as well he felt himself accidentally bump in to someone, making both him and the other guy drop their trays. There was a laud CRASH when the two trays hit the floor,

"WATCH WERE YOU GOING YOU IDIOT!!!!" Hidan screamed, low tempered as ever. But he had to gulp when he looked up at the guy he had just collided with. The guy were dark skinned, his hear was pitch-black and his face covered in stitches. _Holy crap! He looks like a fucking criminal!! _Hidan screamed inside his head, but made no change in his facial expression.

The taller man turned to face Hidan with a gaze that could murder the first one who spooked to him. Unfortunately Hidan, even though he became a little bit scared somewhere inside, only got more frustrated.

"What the fuck are you staring at, you freaking psycho!!!???" He screamed in the black-haired guys face.

In an instant the man had Hidan in a stranglehold, still the murderous eyes staring at the jashinist.

"Did you say something?" He said with a dark voice, almost as homicidal as his eyes.

"HELL YEAH I DID!!!!" Hidan struggled to free himself from the tight grip of the large hand around his neck.

"Bastard… Do you WANT to die?" Hidan almost panicked when he realized the guys hold got stronger and he had trouble to gain any air.

"Kakuzu, enough!" Itachi, who had observed the situation, widened his eyes a bit when he saw the blue man from before grab the tall dark dudes' upper arm. "Let him go, he doesn't deserves it…"

"Hmpf." The man muttered and loosened the grip of Hidan's neck, and then immediately left the room in company with the blue man, leaving Hidan coughing on the ground.

Hidan grabbed his neck. "Fuck- *cough* Fucking bastard *cough cough*"

He swore to get revenge for this.

_________________________________________________________________


	3. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

"Fucking!" *punch* "Ugly!" *punch* "Bastard!" *punch* Hidan cried in frustration as he let out his anger on a nearby tree. Hidan and Itachi had earlier discovered that that were sharing the same schedule as the shark and the other guy, obviously named Kakuzu.  
Their math-lesson had just ended and the jashinist and Kakuzu had been giving each other death glares trough the whole hour.

The whole group, except for Pein and Konan, were now currently gathered outside the school building.

Sasori, who sat on the ground, shook his head slightly "All that anger can't be good for his health."

"I feel bad for the tree, un." Deidara was sitting in Sasoris' lap, completely ignoring the so called rules Pein had been giving them this morning. Tobi was sitting on the ground next to them and Zetsu and Itachi just stood nearby and remained silent, pretty much as it used to be.

"Danna, I'm bored, un…" Deidara said and leaned against the Akasuna.

"Weren't we supposed to meet up at Pein and Konan's apartment?" Zetsu said when all the others had been quiet for a while.

"Yeah!! I want to visit Pein-san's house!!" Tobi jolted.

"Well, is everybody going to join then, un?"

"Probably not Hidan…" Sasori said looking over to the masochist. The three had been cracked open and Hidan's fists were covered in blood. He then hasty turned his head against the others.

"Of course I'm going to join you morons!!!"

_15 minutes later._

Pein almost didn't have time to open before Deidara, Tobi and Hidan stormed the door, making their leader nearly fall over. Hidan and Deidara immediately threw themselves on the cough in the middle of the room.

"Get off, Blondie!" Hidan tried to kick Deidara down but he clung on tight, refusing to fall down.

"No way! You can't have the couch all for yourself!"

While Deidara and Hidan were fighting about the couch Sasori, Zetsu and Itachi walked in to the small apartment, not quite so aggressively. The place didn't really have a hall so you walked directly in to the living room. The room were not very big but had enough place for one couch, two armchairs, two normal chairs, a small TV and a stereo. You could tell that the two young adults had moved here quiet recently because the gray walls were empty and the place lacked decorations, such as carpets or pot plants.  
There were one door on each side of the room, one which led to a small kitchen and the other which led to their shared bedroom.

Hidan finally gave in to share the couch with Deidara and Sasori, even though Deidara was sitting in Sasori's lap most of the time. Zetsu and Itachi were sitting in the armchairs and Tobi literally ran around in circles.

Tobi ran trough all the rooms and searched but then stopped in the living room and pulled Pein's arm. "Pein-sama, where's Konan?"

"And I don't know where she is! Probably out grocery shopping…"

"Hurray!" Tobi jumped up and down and almost seemed to bounce between the walls.

Pein turned his hands into fist and tried not to lose his patience. "Zetsu... would you PLEASE!"

Zetsu nodded. "**Tobi you idiot!** Be a good boy, come over here and be quiet."

Tobi purred slightly as he moved over to sit next by the schizophrenics who put his arm around the masked boys waist, making sure he stayed where he was.

"Sasori, Deidara, Zetsu, Tobi! Do I have to REPEAT the rules I made this morning!?" Pein growled staring coldly at them.

"We're not in school, un."

"Yeah, Pein-sama, you didn't say anything about the rules outside the school!"

"Well, this is MY apartment and you will follow MY rules, because I'M the leader and I started this whole organization!" He sighed heavily. "You know, if it wasn't for me holding this group together, some of you would definitely be victimized!"

Deidara laughed. "Hidan had already been, un!"

"You have WHAT!?" Pein hasty turned his eyes at Hidan.

"I have not!!!"

"A little" Itachi said.

"Okay, well, a little! But you'll se! I'm gonna beat the crap out of that bastard!!!"

"Itachi said he was way bigger than you and that you didn't have a tiny chance against him, un…"

"I'LL COME UP WITH SOME WAY DAMMIT!"

"For fuck sakes Hidan…" Pein hid his face in his hands. "You are supposed to be the creepiest guy here after me, we cannot afford this!"

Itachi decided not to mention the accident with the gay-boy who was coming on to him and almost had beaten him up. He figured Pein really didn't need to hear that right now…

For almost three hours the violently discussions remained uncompleted. Konan eventually came home and entertained Tobi and Deidara who were tired of listening to the other mens jabbering.  
Even tough the sentences uttered between them mostly contained insults and allegations, they didn't completely hate each other. In fact, this group was the only thing keeping them from their loneliness. A few years ago when Pein was only sixteen, he had decided to build a group. A group wich kept together and could overcome anyone. His goal wasn't to get high status but to prevent those special people to be unseen or lonely. He and Konan had already then been together since childhood and she was a big help for him in this procedure.  
One after one Pein had invited the new members, some more hard to convince then others. The thing they all had in common was the fact that they didn't really have anyone close to them and were pretty much classified as freaks. Now, the so called freaks were gathered in his own living room arguing from the one pointless subject to the other.

Diedara, tired of playing stupid games with Konan and Tobi, walked over to Sasori and took a seat next to the redhead, gently leaning against his head against his boyfriends shoulder.

"Danna, I'm tired, un."

"Yeah, it's late. Maybe we should leave…"

Pein leaned back in his chair. "It's been a long day, maybe it's best for you all to head back home."

"You heard the boss, let's go!" Deidara quickly rose from the couch, grabbing Sasori hand and dragging him across the room. Pein growled and Konan smiled as Deidara waved a goodbye and then left.

When Konan noticed the discussed face Pein was doing she laid a hand on his right shoulder.

"Remember you were the one who invited them both here, honey."

"Why do you keep reminding me…"  
_________________________________________________________________


	4. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

It became dark outside amazingly fast, the moon was already visible and the coldness was beginning to take over the air. Itachi walked alone on his way back, all the others had gone in different directions. The cool air blew in his hair and face, making him shiver as his silent footsteps walked through the alleys.  
As he turned at a corner he heard loud laughing voices coming closer and son Itachi could see around six big guys coming in his direction. All of the guys were smoking and Itachi tried desperately not to cough as he made an attempt to walk pass them unnoticed. But he didn't succeed.

"Hey, you!" One of the men shouted and even though he had only met him once Itachi recognized his voice. _Crap…_

Kuro turned around to catch up with Itachi and grabbed his wrist. The Uchiha tried to remain calm and not to face him but unfortunately Kuro moved closer to the weasels face as he chuckled.

"What a coincidence, huh?" Itachi didn't move. "Hey guys, look what I found!" Even tough Itachi now tried to fight against the larger man he was dragged towards the small group.

"What a cutie!" One of them said.

"Is that the guy you talked about?"

He now felt how the all of the unfamiliar guys came closer to inspect him. They all were large, burly and smelled disgusting from booze and cigarettes.  
One of the guys took a hold of Itachi's chin and tilted his head up.

"Hmph, this sweetie doesn't look like such a bitch… Even though he's a little sulky."

"Let me see…"

The hands were all over him now and the drunken eyes were staring down at the small weasel, smirking. Beginning to lose it Itachi tried to break free but the arms was too strong, preventing him from make any movements.

"Let me go…" Itachi whispered.

"What did you say, hun?" Kuro said as he placed one of his fingers on Itachi's lower lip. Without any further hesitation Itachi quickly sank his teeth down hard into the man's finger, making Kuro scream in pain and withdrew immediately.

"FREAKING BITCH!!" He yelled, eyes filled with rage. "How dare you bite me!? Look, it's bleeding!"

Itachi spat to side and glared with murderous eyes at the man as he squirmed under the hands which still held him down. In an instant Kuro was right next to him again.

"Don't you expect me to be afraid of you..." Kuro said as he clenched his teeth and punched Itachi hard in his stomach. For a few seconds Itachi vision disappeared as the unbearable pain came crawling up inside of him. His body was weak and he had nowhere to escape. He the felt how he was threw down on to the cold ground. He held his arms close to his chest and curled up in a ball-position, cried in pain as he felt repeatedly kicks in his back.

The cold laughter echoed in his ears and his world turned black as he slowly lost his consciousness.

_________________________________________________________________

_The words were unclear and in this state Itachi couldn't possibly tell if they were real or not, all he knew was that he heard a voice somewhere far away. The burning pain still hadn't disappeared and the ground was cold against his skin. No. Wait... he couldn't feel the coldness anymore. _

Ever so slowly the Uchiha opened his eyes only to stare up in an unfamiliar ceiling. _Where am I…?_ He thought but felt too weak to turn his gaze away from the ceiling.  
He then heard footsteps walking into the room, closer and closer to him.

"You awake?" A soft voice asked, reaching down next to him and damped his forehead with a wet cloth.  
It took all of the weasel's willpower to turn his head to the side, facing the man. He couldn't believe it. There in front of him was the same blue man who had helped him earlier today. With half open eyes Itachi stared at the man with a questioning look. The man chuckled smoothly and then spoke again,

"I know, being saved by the same guy twice in one day. What are the odds, huh?"

Maybe it was because of his dizziness and the fact that he recently woke up from unconsciousness, but Itachi was completely lost. In a way he felt safe and protected but there were so many questions running through his head.

"What... Why… I... You... How…" Itachi's words came out as stuttering whispers. His voice almost abandoning him.

"Shh..." The shark hushed as he looked into the weasels eyes in an attempt to calm him down. "You are pretty badly injured, ya' know. Don't overstrain yourself, just try to relax…"

The weasel carefully nodded and tried to calm himself down. The blue-skinned man rose from the floor and sat down on a chair next to the couch.

"What am I doing here…" Itachi quietly asked.

"I carried you here." The shark responded. "I was on my way back home and found you bleeding on the ground". He looked at Itachi with worried eyes. "You had wounds everywhere, man, what happened?"

Itachi wasn't really sure himself exactly what had happened so he uttered the only thing he clearly remembered, "Kuro…"

He saw how the shark curled his fists and slightly growled. "That bastard…!" Itachi observed the shark that seemed to be very upset. But he soon clamed down and looked at Itachi with humble eyes and sighed.

"You got a name?"

Itachi didn't usually tell people his name. He didn't know why but it always makes him feel uncomfortable. Bur for some reason, this time was different. He didn't felt uncomfortable with it at all.

"Itachi…" He said. Even tough the words still came out as whispers.

The shark got up from the chair. "You know what, Itachi? I don't think it's a good option for you to walk home right now. Want to crash here for tonight?" Itachi who still struggled to keep his eyes open couldn't agree more so he nodded slightly.

"I can call your parents if you like…"

"That's not necessary…" Itachi answered.

"Why?" The shark said and raised a brow. "Won't they be worried?"

"No It's ok..." Was the last thing the weasel had the power to say before he no longer could keep his eyes open and fell into deep a slumber. The shark grabbed a nearby blanket and carefully placed it over the sleeping weasel before he walked in to his own bedroom.

"Night Itachi…"

_________________________________________________________________


	5. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

_The next day._

The shark and the weasel walked down the roads together, heading for school. Both of them being completely quiet. All they could hear were the birds singing beautifully and the cares that drew by every now and then. The shark didn't seem to mind the silence at all. He was walking with his head tilted back, smiling up at the blue sky, looking somehow peaceful. Itachi on the other hand found this situation very awkward. His body was still hurt but thanks to the shark, who had taken care of his wounds yesterday and giving him painkillers it wasn't quite as bad as the night before. The Uchiha inaudibly grumbled.

"Hm? Did you say anything?" The shark said moving his gaze away from the sky.

"… "Itachi sighed but kept looking at the ground. "I just… Never got to know your name."

"Oh." The shark smiled. "It's Kisame."

________________________________________ ________________________

"Dei, don't sit on the ground, you'll get dirty."

"But Danna... the grass is all dry, un."

"You'll still get spots on your suit, now get up!" Sasori grabbed Deidara's hands and pulled him up from the ground. Everyone except for Itachi was currently located outside the school. Because of the heat Hidan had decided not to wear his shirt today and he was holding it negligently over his right shoulder. Some of the girls that walked by stealthily watched him and giggled.

"You're gonna draw a lot of attention walking 'round like that, un" Deidara chuckled.

"So?"

"But Hidan-sempai, I thought you didn't want the girls to like you" Tobi said.

"Pfhe, who gives a damn about the girls!? Its freaking hot and the stupid shirt are bugging my ass off!"

It was true that today was surprisingly hotter then the earlier days, but the fact was Hidan wasn't just such a big fan of wearing shirts. Never had been, and probably never would come to be.

He stretched his arms high above his head. "I'm bored…!" He yawned. "Can't this stupid school day just begin already so it can end sometime?"

"Do you seriously have something better to do?" Pein sighed, raising a brow.

"Of course I do! I could be home, praying to jashin all day long!" He said twirling his finger in the silver pendant that hung around his neck. They all shook their heads, mentally sighing. Arguing with Hidan about his precious Jashin was like arguing with Itachi about anything – impossible.

The jashinist let out a frustrated sigh. "Naah I've had it! You guys are way boring! I'm gonna go track down some teachers or something… See yah!" He waved as he turned around and left.

"Zetsu-san???" Tobi said, pulling the schizophrenic arm. "Is something wrong with Hidan today?"

"No Tobi, he's fine." Zetsu said petting the smaller boys head.

"I would say he's exactly as usual…" Pein stated.

At the same time they were talking, Deidara was the only one noticing Itachi enter the school area. He was about to raise his hands and call for the weasel but changed his mind when he realized Itachi weren't walking alone. The blonde's eyes widened. Was Itachi just walking side by side with another human being looking totally aware of the situation without doing anything to show he disapproved it? Something was not right here…  
When the other noticed Deidara was quietly staring they all turned their heads in the same direction. Now all the eyes widened.

"What the!?" Konan gasped.

"ZOMG!! Itachi made a friend!!" Tobi screamed bouncing up and down.

Sasori raised a brown "…Seriously?"

"Has hell been freezing over?" Pein said in disbelief.

They observed how the tall blue man stopped, said something as he smiled and then ran off waving. Itachi just raised a hand at the shark and then turned his gaze around, noticing six pair off eyes staring at him. He slightly curled his upper lip as he began to move over to his mates.  
None of them uttered a word as the weasel approached them. He felt quite irritated by their silence and the surprised faces staring at him. _They all look so stupid… _

"Who… Was that?" Pein began. All they others remained quiet, impatiently waiting for the answer.

"…" What was he supposed to say?_ Oh yeah, this guy saved my sorry ass twice yesterday and let me sleep in his apartment after I was terribly wounded by a bunch of large guys._ No. Way. What should he say then, a friend? Would that really be right…?

"Well!!" Deidara said restively reminding him to answer.

"… A friend." He said at last. And by that the questions were all over him, making him flinch back.

"What? A friend? When did this happened!?"

"What's his name!?"

"How come you're not resisting him!?"

"Is he in your class, un!?"

"Is he a good boy!?"

"Since when are you friendly to anyone!?"

"Itachi, answer!"

"Why in gods name were you two walking to school together!?"

The voices were suffocating him and he couldn't possibly come up with something advisedly to say. Not that he even cared or wanted to answer these questions.

"Long story" He simply said, turning his gaze away making the others slightly frustrated.

Itachi thanked god when the school bell suddenly rang and was the first one to began walking towards the gates, the other quickly to follow.

"You SO not getting away with this, un!" Deidara smirked at Itachi as the entered the school. Itachi sighed.

________________________________________ _________________________

At the same time Hidan had just spent half an hour arguing with the teachers about the shirt-situation. Of course Hidan hadn't surrendered and his shirt was still hanging over his shoulder. He had successfully been driving the teachers mentally insane plus earning his first detention. He laughed to himself as he walked trough the hallway, heading for the classroom. Their first lesson of today was chemistry. Not a very big hit but it could be worse…

As surprisingly as it was, Hidan was in a good mood today. He played with his pendant and thought about how to thank jashin-sama later. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice when he once again bumped in with a larger man. Because of the size difference Hidan stumbled on his feet and then fell backwards, hitting the floor.

Somehow Hidan wasn't surprised when he met the familiar eyes of the tanned black-haired man. The happy mood gone faster then you could say POFF!

"You… Bastard…" Hidan growled, clenching his teeth together hard, staring with furious eyes at the man above him. The scarred-face man just gave him an irritated sigh, without any further movements.

Hidan furiously got up from the floor. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!? Do you want to fight! Bring it on, bitch!"

Just a small accident like this had made Hidan go from decent happy to overreacted death rage. If it had been someone else, Hidan had been a very dangerous person to mess with but in this situation Hidan was defenseless. Even though he was too damn proud to realize it himself.

The tanned man clenched his fist together hard and took a deep breath, obviously trying to remain calm. "Who are you blaming? **You're** the one bumping in to me, not the opposite!"

"Oh yeah!?" Hidan curled his lips to an evil smile, trying to look dangerous. But he didn't succeed at all. The larger man just kept staring at him, face blank and pure evil eyes.

_Crap! No way in hell I'll loose to this guy!_ Hidan thought and was without realizing it beginning to somehow feel nervous again.

"Kakuzu!" A different voice suddenly interrupted. Hidan annoyed rose at brow at the blue man which approached the two enemies.

"Is everything ok here?" The shark asked, suspiciously looking at the tanned man who took another deep breath.

"Yeah, everything's fine Kisame, lets go." Kakuzu said as he spun around and walked away.

The shark watched over his shoulder and make sure Kakuzu entered the classroom before he turned to the upset silver-haired man.

"Please excuse my friend, deep inside he's a good person too." He tried to smile awkwardly.

Hidan still had his brown raised. "Hmpf! Whatever." He said as he too walked pass the shark to enter the classroom. The blue man relived scratched his neck and sighed.

_________________________________________________________________


	6. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

Unfortunately the day didn't go for the better. Of course the teacher just had to pair Hidan and Kakuzu up as lab partners which made Hidan go crazy, screaming his protest out loud causing the birds outside to fly away in fear. And he gained his second detention.

Itachi had been paired up with some random guy whose name he had paid no attention to note down. He was sitting on a bench behind Kisame and was currently resting his head in his left hand.  
For some reason, he found it more interesting to observe his new found friend then co-operate with his lab partner. It was weird for Itachi to feel interested by another human being. He usually couldn't care less about anyone, including some of his friends... But this guy was different. Maybe because he was the first one in a long time who had shown some human compassion to him.

Itachi observed how the shark's right-arm moved as he wrote down something on his paper. He was wearing a white t-shirt so his well-trained arms-muscles were clearly visible. His face was calm but serious and his mind totally focused on the lesson.  
The weasel felt someone poke him and growled quietly to himself when his lab partner annoyed asked him to help out a little.

A couple of hours later the students were rushing out of the classroom like there was no tomorrow. Hidan and Kakuzu's never-ending arguing had been driving them crazy and they were all covering their ears as they escaped the classroom.

"You dammed fuckface!!! Who do you call small!!??"

"Wont you just shut the fuck up you little rat, you're so annoying!!!"

"RAT!? OH YEAH, WANNA KNOW WHAT I THINK!? I THINK YOU'RE A – " The sound of Hidan

s maniacal screaming were shut out by Kisame closing the door behind him, he and Itachi being the last ones to abandon the classroom. Kisame sighed miserable.

"You really think we should leave those two alone in there…"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders. "Hidan just acts tuff. I don't think he can win, he's too tenuous."

A way to laud CRASH was heard from inside the classroom and an instant later Kakuzu walked out irascibly.

"Come on Kisame, let's go…" He said and began to walk away.

"Kakuzu... What did you do to him?" Kisame asked in a worried tone.

"Nothing to badly, he'll be okay…" The man said as he disappeared out of sight.

"Damn him and his low self-possession! I should catch up with him; you might need to check on your friend."

Itachi just nodded, not really sure how to react as the shark spun around, trying to catch up with the black-haired man. He then stopped and looked back at Itachi, catching the weasel's eyes.

"See you at lunch later?" He said and turned his lips into a sweet humble smile.

Itachi being a little bit chocked just nod again and gained another smile from the shark who was gone in a few seconds. The Uchiha tried to gather his mind. Why was the shark being so nice to him… Before he became friends with the so called "freaks" he was pretty much avoided by anyone. No one ever wanted to get near him and he was always considered as the loner. So why wasn't Kisame like everybody else? The weasel mentally sighed. So what? He was a good guy who had helped him out a little. Once the shark would come to realize Itachi's true personality he would probably run off too. He rarely spoke. He wasn't fun. He didn't care for much and he would never let anyone get too close to him. Now who would like those features…

The weasel's mind was interrupted by a painful groan from the next room. Itachi unwillingly opened the door to see Hidan laying defeated on the floor, almost unconscious with a chair thrown over him. Although he didn't seem to have any wounds. He let out an other painful groan as he started to wake up. "I… I'm… gonna… kiiiiiiiiill him."

Itachi didn't even sigh as he walked away, fishing up a cell phone from his pocket and wrote a text message to Deidara telling him and the others to go get Hidan.

Deidara and Sasori along with Zetsu and Tobi had come to pick Hidan up from the floor. He wasn't really hurt at all; he was just dizzy from getting a chair in the head. Due the time it had taken them to get Hidan up from the floor and traveled with him trough the school he had constantly been mumbling swears and how to revenge a certain fuckface. About half an hour later they all were gathered in the cafeteria, Pein trying to figure out why Hidan was acting so strange while the others came up with lame excuses at the same time they tried to calm down Hidan's murderous rage.

As usually, Itachi wasn't joining the conversation. He had his gaze on the other side of the room were Kisame and Kakuzu was sitting. The weasels mind was troubled… He couldn't decide however he should walk over to him or not. But then the shark raised his head and their eyes met. Half a second later he smiled and waved for Itachi to come over. The weasel slowly got up from his seat.

"Hey, where are you going?" Pein asked.

"Be right back…" He mumbled as he approached the sharks table, leaving the rest of them quiet, observing how the as he earned yet another smile from the blue man.

"What did just happened!?" Deidara said, eyes wide opened.

"OH NO HE DIDN'T!" Hidan screamed, pushing the chair away so he was standing. "Whose fucking side is he on!? His friends or the friend of the guy who fucking knocks out his friend!?"

"The friend of the guy who fucking did WHAT?" Pein shouted as he too violently rose from the table.

"Dumbass" Deidara sighed loudly.

"….Uhm…" Hidan couched as he slowly sat down again. "I don't think I ever said anything." He guiltlessly said, gazing the opposite way.

"Liar!" Pein roared, pointing at Hidan.

"There there honey, take it easy…" Konan said, laying her hands on his shoulders. Forcing him gently to sit down. "Let Hidan explain."

For the first time ever Hidan remain all silent making Pein cry in frustration.

"Do anyone else mind to tell me what REALLY happened!?"

"Well… "Deidara started. "According to Itachi that tanned scar-faced man knocked Hidan out and they have been fighting a lot."

"THE WEASEL IS LYING!" Hidan screamed, hasty returning his gaze to them.

"What's you version then?" Sasori asked in disbelief.

"Well, for the first he just got a lucky shoot! He does not have the fucking upper hand in this fight; I'll totally kick his jashin dammed ass later!!!"

"You expect me to believe that!?" Pein growled. "The man is twice you're size and looks like he just got out of prison!"

"Tobi got an idea!"

"And for the second, why is Itachi suddenly with those two… And who are those anyway!?"

".. Tobi got two ideas!"

"TOBI BE QUIET! This is painful enough already!" Pein shook his head back and forward. Konan smacked Pein in the head with her hand. The oh so almighty leader squeaked quietly and rubbed the hurting spot, glaring at his girlfriend. "Ok then Tobi, let's hear it…" he said unwillingly.

"Tobi just thought that if Itachi-san's new friend can join so us then Itachi will be happy and then Itachi-san's new friend's friend can join too so he won't have to be alone and then Hidan-senpai and Itachi-san's new friend's friend can be nicer to each other when everybody's friends!" He smiled sweetly.

"…."

"….That could work, un!" Deidara said positively.

"NowayfuckingwayI'llratherdieandburninhell." Hidan said in one sentence.

"Aaw... Come on Hidan-senpai, I'm sure he's nice once you get to know him. Just like you!" Tobi grinned.

"Screw you! I'm not nice, I'm never nice!"

"And obviously has no intention to either…" Sasori sighed.

Without anyone noticing it Itachi was suddenly back. Without saying a word he was sitting down again on his old chair.

"Itachi!" Pein called, gazing at the weasel. "You have permission to invite your friend and his friend to come join us!"

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!" Hidan cried and rose again, aggressively walking out of the cafeteria.

"And you have no permission to break out off this!" Pein shouted after him.  
_________________________________________________________________


	7. Chapter 6

**Part 6  
**  
As the day flew by Itachi noticed how he slowly was beginning to feel more attached to Kisame. He somehow was more relaxed when the shark was near and even though he didn't speak much the weasel enjoyed listening to Kisame whenever he talked.

It was the end of their last lesson and the students were all heading out of the classroom. As Hidan was right about to abandon the place as well Itachi grabbed his silver-hair and pulled him back in.

"AoutchAoutchAouth! Itachi, what the fuck are you doing!? Not the hair!! You're ruining it!!" He squeaked in pain.

"Because of your lack of shirt I didn't really have an option." The weasel let go of his hair as they walked up to Kisame and Kakuzu who obviously were the only ones left.

Itachi coughed loudly.

"What?" Hidan said, raising a brown.

"I believe Pain had a request…" Itachi said, glaring coldly at Hidan.

"Pfhe! I don't care about what stupid Pein says! You can all go die!" He growled and spun around to leave the three of them alone. _Traitor!_ Itachi thought as he sent hateful glares after him.

"What's up with him, why is he always so mad?" Kisame wondered.

Itachi slightly rolled his eyes. "He's just pissed because Pein told us we should ask you if you guys wanted to join our group sometime."

"Really?" Kisame said with a smile as his eyes widened a bit. Kakuzu showed no signs of reaction, just kept the cool slightly pissed off look on his face.

"That would be awesome" The shark grinned again. "We really need to meet new people… right?" The shark used his elbow to poke the tanned man in his side.

"Hm? Oh, yeah sure…" He said simply and shrugged his shoulders.

It didn't take any long time at all, just after a few hours Kisame and Kakuzu already felt like a part of the gang. Tobi couldn't possibly be more hyper and eagerly introduced not only himself but all the others to the two of them. Pein was pleased to have gained two tall and scary-looking members. Even though Kisame was a rather happy guy and smiled most of his time he could look very serious and a bit dangerous when he didn't.

It was late in the afternoon and they were gathered in Pein and Konan's living room. Hidan had once again been the first one to occupy the couch but now shared it with Zetsu and Tobi. Pein and Konan were in each armchair while Kisame and Kakuzu had been given the chair. Which leaves Sasori and Deidara who was sitting on the floor; the blonde, as always, in his Danna's lap. And Itachi who stood up, leaning against one of the walls.

Kakuzu tried his hardest to ignore Hidan's attempt to start a fight but it wasn't that easy for someone who almost were at the same level as the jashinist when it came to remain calm. Especially when Hidan repeatedly threw insults in the tanned mans face.

"Hidan!" Pein screamed annoyed by the immature behavior. "Stop insulting our new members this instant or I'll make Deidara use his explosive clay on you!"

"Really!?" Deidara said, smiling from ear to ear.

"What!? I-"Hidan noticed Kakuzu was smirking "What the hell are you smiling at fuckface!?"

"Hidan!" Pein shouted.

"What!? He started it!"

"Did not." Kakuzu growled.

"Did too!"

Pein gave up and fell back into his armchair. "Oh dear god. Konan, what am I supposed to do?" The blue haired woman just smiled sweetly and laid her hand on her boyfriends forearm.

"They'll be just fine honey." She said with a relaxing voice.

"Yeah, un. If you haven't noticed they don't seem like they wanna kill each other anymore. They're more like bitching schoolgirls, un!" Deidara said and immediately stopped the yelling argument between Hidan and Kakuzu as they both hasty turned their head around and glared at him, eyes that could kill.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" They shrieked at the same time.

"Oh, n-n-nothing ahahaha" Deidara nervously laughed and then quickly snuggled into Sasori's shirt in an attempt to hide, successfully. Hidan and Kakuzu just glared at him and then returned to yell at each other again.

Kisame was sitting with his head leaning on one hand while his elbows rested on his knees, a somehow troubled look spread across his face. Tobi got up from the couch and sat down in front of the shark.

"Kisame-san? Why do you look so troubled? You don't like us?" He said in a sad tone and tilted his head to one side. For the first time this evening Itachi bothered to turn his head to the side to observe what was going on.

"Hm?" Kisame straightened himself up and scratched his neck. "Oh no, it's not like that at all."

"Then what is it?" Tobi curiously asked.

"I was just thinking that…" He removed his hand from his neck and then turned his gaze at Itachi whose eyes widened a bit. "Are you okay over there, Itachi?" He asked with a worried expression. Everybody stopped what they were doing and became deathly silent. Itachi just stared at him, looking almost as surprised as the rest of them.

"… Why do you ask?" He said cold and suspiciously.

"It's just that that you stand there all alone and you don't say anything. Is something wrong?"

"Pfhe…" Hidan snapped. "Itachi never speaks unless he have to, get used to it…"

Kisame looked inquisitively at Itachi but before the shark had any time to catch the weasels gaze Itachi turned his head back to his originally position without saying anything more.

Everyone soon returned to what they were talking or fighting about without anymore thoughts about Itachi. But the shark every now and then gazed over to the Uchiha who still just stood there with a calm gathered expression. Somehow Kisame wasn't satisfied with that as an answer.

The afternoon soon turned into evening and almost everyone was enjoying their time. Hidan and Kakuzu weren't screaming anymore, just snapping at each other at regular times. Kisame had eventually got tired of Itachi and got up from his chair to join him over there instead. At first Itachi didn't really feel like speaking but after a while, even tough he didn't say much, he found it easier to talk with Kisame. Everyone was beyond words chocked by how Itachi suddenly changed when he spoke to the shark. He didn't smile, but he didn't look as cold like a bloody murderer either. In a way he looked more symmetric.

Because it was getting late Hidan was becoming more tired which made him easier to enrage. And of course, that resulted back to the eternal screaming. Kakuzu just growled and got up from his chair, completely ignoring the jashinist shrieks as he walked over to Kisame and Itachi.

"It's late and my ears hurt, I'm gonna head home." He said.

"Yeah, I'm kind of tired and got a few things to take care of, I better go too." Kisame sighed.

"Let's go then" Kakuzu said heading for the door.

"Good night everyone, see you tomorrow!" Kisame said and gave Itachi a last smile before he left the apartment.

"GO DIE!" Hidan shouted right before Kakuzu slammed the door.

Deidara who had moved to one of the chairs while Sasori were in the kitchen were smirking at Hidan. The jashinist stared back at the blonde who just kept that evil smirk, not removing his gaze from Hidan who soon couldn't take it anymore.

"What's with the fucking smirk, what do you want!?" He blustered. But Deidara just laughed.

"You like him, don't you?" He grinned.

If Hidan would have had a cup of coffee right now, this would be the scene when he emergently spits it out.

"WHAT!?" Hidan urgently stood up so aggressively that he almost tipped over the couch with Zetsu and Tobi in it. "Have you lost your fucking mind!?"

"Awww come on, un!" Deidara smiled. "You're always seeking his attention and whenever you two are not glaring at each other you are totally checking him in!" He laughed again "And you look at him with such dreamy eyes, admit it Hidan, you can't fool me, un!"

It was safe to assume that Hidan never blushed, some even doubted that he even could blush but you didn't even have to look at Hidan's face color right now, you could judge by his expression that he was totally blushing.

"This is an outrage!" He yelled and pointed at Deidara with his index finger. "You and I are no longer speaking, bitch!" And with those words he left the room, managing to slam the door even harder then Kakuzu had done it.

"It's SO obvious. Right, un?" Deidara asked.

"Got that right." Konan smirked. Everyone except Pein nodding in agreement.


	8. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

A clicking sound echoed through the empty hall as Itachi twisted the key around and opened the door to his apartment. He had to wait a minute after he got in and adjust his eyes to the darkness. If it were anyone else, turning on the lights instead would be the obvious thing to do. But Itachi disliked the light, it was only hurting his eyes and he was much more comfortable with walking around in the dark.

The weasel apartment was very small and only contained a living room, a narrow kitchen and an unbelievably small bathroom. He could manage though to fit in a small bed in the right corner of the living room.

He carelessly dropped his jacket on to the cold floor as his easy steps made their way through the room. He collapsed with his back first on the small bed. For a couple of minutes he just laid there, staring blankly at the plain white ceiling. He slowly raised his hand making it catch the moonlight glowing in from the window. He observed how the cold light was creating different, kind off mysterious shadows over his thin fingers.

In his mind he let out a sigh as he lowered his hand again and closed his eyes, letting his mind travel away. This day sure had been weird. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity Itachi hadn't felt all that miserable and hostile as he always used to. Itachi was smart enough to figure out himself that it was entirely the shark's fault. Somehow he made him happy. He even made Itachi feel more miserable when he wasn't around.

The weasel rolled over the side so he was now facing the wall. Why did this affect him so badly...? He was just a simple friend, that's all. Then how come he didn't feel like the rest of his friends.

_Could it be that... I... _

Itachi hasty sat up, staring blankly out in the air. No it couldn't be. Or could it?

_Am I... beginning to... fall in love with him? _.

He slowly laid himself back onto the madras, keeping his eyes on the ceiling the whole time. After giving it some thought it all make sense. Even now he wanted the shark to be there with him. Just having him by his side would satisfy the Uchiha, make him feel save and relaxed.

Then the obvious hit him. Kisame would never feel the same about him.  
It was true that the shark had been very kind to Itachi, but why should he feel specific? Wasn't the shark that kind to everybody? He should have no right to feel special.

Dolorously he realized that if he kept these feelings in mind he would be the one end up hurt. Sooner or later he would scare off the shark, like he always scared off people. Even his friends had partially given up on him. There was no possibility the shark would feel the same for him.

Itachi made up his mind – He had to make his feelings disappear before it was too late. He would give the shark no more reason to be kind to him, or even care for him. He had to end this friendship. For his own sake. He could never take being left by the shark, especially not if he allowed himself too care about him. His feelings HAD to disappear.

_You're not in love with him, you idiot._ He thought over and over again before he finally fell asleep.

"Beat it." Kakuzu growled as he walked through the school hallways, Hidan two steps behind him. The rain was pouring down heavily outside the large windows and darkness had taken over the sky even though it was early in the morning.

"Make me!" The smaller man responded persistently.

"Oh, believe me, I will if you don't stop following me this instant!" He said as he kept on walking in a hope of losing the burden that had been after him like a tail all morning, constantly begging for a fight.

"Pfhe! Sounds like a challenge!" The jashinist grinned.

"No!" Kakuzu then stopped, causing Hidan to almost bump in with him again. "I will NOT fight with you! You'll end up hurt and then I'll get the blame, so go bother someone else!" He yelled ad his annoyed eyes met the triggered violet ones.

But Hidan just kept on grinning. "You are just afraid that I'll be the one beat YOU up this time!"

The tanned man growled in defeat at his stupidity as he walked away, the entertained silver-haired teen close behind.

Itachi was sitting by his desk, next to the window. To his satisfaction he was completely alone in this classroom which was rather surprising considering that the lesson would start in about five minutes. In the same moment he heard footsteps walking into the room, unfamiliar voices talking and laughing as one after another came in through the door.

The weasel didn't care to turn his gaze away. He watched the hard rain that whipped against the ground and the trees that were fighting to survive the aggressive weather. He then automatically turned his gaze when he felt someone approach his desk, settling down right in front of him.

"Hi there, gorgeous!" An all too well recognized voice said and Itachi couldn't help but to flinch back when he met the undelightful eyes of Kuro Takana.

"Hope you didn't get all to hurt last time, sorry my friends can be a little wild after a few beers!" He laughed. "I can make it up to you, if you know what I mean." He smirked seductively as he kept his eyes attached to Itachi's.

Just by looking at the brown-haired man made Itachi feel sick to his stomach. He really wanted to look away but Kuro had caught Itachi's eyes in a trap and he made it impossible for the poor weasel to break the eye-contact. He could clearly remember the horror of his previous meeting with Kuro.

"So what do you say? Wanna get to my place after school, sweetie?"

Itachi tried his best not to look afraid as Kuro came closer and closer to him. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Kuro's right shoulder, pulling him up and pushing him away from Itachi. The sickening feeling in his stomach disappeared and he felt a sigh of relief when he saw Kisame now standing in front of him, staring furious at Kuro.

"Beat it Takana, leave him alone!" He hissed trough close-bitten teeth.

The man straightened himself, staring in despise back at Kisame. "Shut it, you ugly bastard! Why do you care!? He makes his own choices, right cute-" Kuro never had time to finish that sentence, instead he received a hard punch in the face by Kisame's large fist, making him fly trough the room. Itachi's eyes widened at the sight of Kuro stumble and then falling on to his back.

Kuro whimpered as he held his hand close to his nose which had been starting to bleed awfully from the punch. "I'll get you for this Hoshigaki!!" He cursed as he cowardly ran out of the room.

"You wish…" Kisame mumbled and then noticed the questioned look Itachi gave him. He then scratched his neck the usual way he always did. "Maybe that was too hard but it was nothing compared what they did to you." He said and crinkled his eyebrows.

Itachi found it hard to realize what just had happened. Surprised by how dangerous and strong Kisame had seemed to be, he just stared at the shark. He had never seen that side of him. He didn't even know there was such a side. Kisame had been looking like he really could kill him. And all because he were standing up for Itachi? Itachi felt a new kind of pain in his stomach as his mind spoke to him again. No, it was just this that wasn't supposed to happen.

The weasel sent of a cold glare when the shark met his eyes.

"Don't do that" He snapped. "Stop defending me all the time, it's annoying." He said and angry turned his gaze back to the window.

Kisame curled his eyebrow up in surprise, confused about the weasels reaction "W-What?" He said scattering. "Itachi, don't tell me tha-"

"Shut up!" Itachi returned his evil gaze to the shark. "Leave me alone; don't act like we're friends!" He growled leaving the shark speechless.

Kisame didn't know how to react and just watched in disbelief as Itachi once again turned to the window with a sour look across his face. The shark opened his mouth in an attempt to speak but was cut off when the teacher walked in and claiming them all to be quiet, the lesson had started.  
_________________________________________________________________


	9. Chapter 8

**Part 8 **

Hidan and Deidara were resting against a wall in wait for the others to end their lessons. Both of them had been kicked out from their classes. Hidan for talking (screaming) too loud and therefore disturbed the rest of the class. And Deidara for by accident making his clay bombs explode inside of the classroom, causing the teacher to be furious.

Even though Hidan had forgotten about yesterday's conversation with Deidara he didn't exactly feel any urge of talking to the blonde. The jashinist eyed the wall on the other side, looking bored. He groaned in his mind when he heard Deidara chuckle to himself.

"What now!?"

Deidara showed a small grin. "Oh, nothing, I just couldn't help but noticing you following Kakuzu around this morning, un." He said and chuckled again. "May you tell me the reason or do I already know I'm right?"

Hidan's eyebrows verged and the corners of his mouth turned down in to a hateful expression as he stared at Deidara with angry eyes, no intention to respond.

"Hidan. Either you admit it now or I'll be hunting you forever." He made a pause trying to read Hidan face. "Come on, un… You know you can trust me, I won't tell anyone."

A minute of silence went by and then Hidan surrendered, loosened up his stiff face and sighed miserable.

"So you do like him?" Deidara smiled.

"So what if I do?" Hidan said with the quietest voice he had ever used, followed by yet another silent minute.

"So, un…" Deidara started. "Have you decided what to do about it?" He asked getting one small nod back from Hidan.

"Nothing..." He simply said.

"…. Nothing?" Deidara raised a brow.

"Nothing." He confirmed without any changes in his blank face.

"...But..." Deidara stared confused at him. "You can't just do nothing!"

"'Then what do you suggest I should do!?" Hidan's tone was aggressive but he remained his face serious and made no movements.

"I don't know, how about telling him about it, un!"

"No. Way. In. Hell."

"Why not?"

Hidan tilted his back and let out an annoyed growl. "Good god, you really are blond." He said earning a pissed look from Deidara. "He hates me obviously! Why should I confess something like that to someone who hates me, huh!?" Hidan's frustrated eyes now glared at the blonde.

"Well you could try and hope for the best, who knows; maybe he feels the same…" Deidara shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, he thinks you hate him and you're apparently not so why can't the opposite be possible?"

"Please… If you noticed me following him around you must also have noticed that he's avoiding me constantly. No matter how much I follow him or insult him he refuses to give me attention." By now Hidan looked kind of sad. "So no, I won't tell him."

Deidara looked at him, a bit stunned. "Wow Hidan, since when did you became so emotional?" Hidan sighed.

"Well I DID recently discover that I'm gay, give me a break here!"

"Alright alright, un…"

The sound of a door opening a bit from where they stood made them both turned their heads around, watching how the empty hall suddenly became more crowded. The lessons must have ended.

Hidan immediately caught the green eyes of the tanned-man when he walked out of the classroom. Kakuzu responded for a second by keeping his eyes at the jashinist, and then he bitterly turned around, walking away in the opposite direction.

"See my point…" Hidan said.

"Hmpf…" Deidara muttered. "I still think you should talk to him though…"

"Dream on."

Both of their eyes then settled on Itachi who came walking their way with hurried steps.

Deidara started to raise his hand "Hey, Ita-" The blonde stopped when the weasel just walked right past without a single sign of awareness.

"Itachi!!" Another voice called from the classroom and came closer almost as quick as Itachi had. "Itachi, come on!!" Kisame called as he stopped next to the blonde and the jashinist. Realizing there were no point in following him.

"What's up in his ass, un?" Deidara asked suspicious.

"Well, obviously not Kisame." Hidan grinned.

Kisame raised a brow, glaring coldly at Hidan who burst out laughing along with Deidara. The shark rolled his eyes and decided to not care about that comment.

"What's wrong with him? He just totally ignores me; I can't seem to figure out what I've done wrong…" The shark was obviously very upset just as well as confused.

"Pfhe! That's just his instinct!" Hidan started "Whenever someone get too close to him he shuts them out, he has always been like that!"

The shark took interest in those words and widened his eyes. "What? How come?"

"The hell should I know…"

"But I know, un." Deidara said.

"You do?" Kisame asked.

"How come you know, blondie?"

"'Cause I've known him longer then you and I tend to notice stuff like that in people.. Like I noticed you were in lo-" The blonde were immediately silenced by the jahinist covering his mouth and took a stranglehold around his neck. "One word and I'm gonna leave Sasori with horrible, horrible memories of his former blonde".

"Ok! Ok!" Deidara said breaking free and regained his posture. "So I was saying, you shouldn't worry too much, I think Itachi just don't want to be hurt."

"Hurt? But why I gods name would I hurt him?"

Hidan let out a small chuckle. "People tend to get enough of Itachi after a too long time; bastard's can really be a pain in the ass…"

"Yeah, un." Deidara agreed. "He's always grouchy and never speaks his mind about anything, un!"

"But…" Kisame though for a while. "He doesn't leave you guys?"

The two of them looked at each other and then shrugged their shoulders at the same time.

"I'd say he does every now and then…"

"Yeah, un. He kind off come and goes like he feels to. Nothing that really bothers us though, we've known him for too long. "

"Indeed." Hidan nodded. "Seriously sharky, you shouldn't look that worried. Now, enough about the weasel! I'm fucking bored."

"Wanna go blow something up, un?" The blonde bomber grinned.

"Yeah, sure, whatever…" Hidan said before he leaved the spot in company with the blonde, leaving the shark alone in the noisy corridor. A bitter groan escaped trough his mouth and he walked away with a troubled mind.

The next two days was a pure hell. Every time Hidan tried to gain Kakuzu's attention the tanned man just seem to ignore him even more. Deidara still unsuccessfully tried to convince the jashinist to just confess his feelings. The possibility was almost at the same high as if Hidan would out of nowhere decide to turn christian.

They days had been awfully hard for the shark too. He had almost given up the hope of ever talk normally to Itachi again. No talking, no eye-contact, no explanations. Nothing. Itachi was like a stone. Hard, cold and absolutely impossible the read.

By the end of the third day Kisame had completely stopped to bother him. He didn't want to give up on him yet but he realized he would never come to get any respond.

The school day had just ended and as usual they whole group were gathered by the sidewalk outside the large building. Deidara elbowed Sasori in his side. The Akasuna growled.

"What are you doing?" He said with a glare.

Deidara carefully pointed in Kisame direction. "I think Itachi really hurt that poor guy, look at him."

Sasori turned his gaze at Kisame and saw that the blonde was right. The previous days he had been troubled and very upset but now he just looked like he had surrendered a battle. His eyes were tired and a depressed look was spread over his whole face.

Sasori pulled his arms around the blonde, resting his head against a shoulder. "Yeah, he'll probably get over it." Sasori said unconcerned.

The blonde sighed. "Danna, you're so callous, un."

"Hmpf." Sasori snorted and snuggled into Deidara neck. "That's because I only need to be sensible around you" He smirked and then he noticed the murderous glare coming from Pein's pissed eyes.

"Alright! Alright!" Sasori said rolling his eyes and let go of his blonde. "Asshole…" He whispered, succeeded to be unheard by everyone but Hidan.

"Speaking of assholes!" Hidan said and tried to catch Kakuzu gaze.

"Here we go again…" Pein sighed and shook his head. "Seriously Hidan, you'll only have yourself to blame if you get beaten up."

"Ha!" Hidan spat. "Like he could beat me up!"

"He did it before, you know…" Sasori said.

"I told you, that was just a lucky-shot!" The jashinist groaned. "I swear, I'll beat his ugly ass up!"

Kakuzu's clenched his teeth together and hardened his fists. Obviously affected but remained calm. Hidan placed himself right in front of him, staring up at the taller man.

"Did you hear me asshole!? Or are you to afraid to talk?" Hidan smirked. "You really are just an ugly cowa-" Hidan's way too bold voice stopped talking when Kakuzu's eyes suddenly stared right back into the jashinist.

For days he had wanted some kind of response from Kakuzu but somehow this wasn't what he had imagined. Of course he hadn't expect the tanned man to look happy but the gaze he was giving him made Hidan's heart sank a little while he helplessly stared back at him. Kakuzu had looked at him hatefully before but this time it was different, he had never looked THIS angry and pure hate for the jashinist glowed trough his eyes.

Hidan didn't have any time to react when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his shirt. The taller man aggressively pulled him closer so their faces were  
inches from each other.

"Watch your dirty mouth…" Kakuzu growled trough his teeth.

Soon Hidan couldn't take it; the hateful eyes of the tanned man could burn holes through his head.

"Let go off me!" He shrieked, pushing himself away from the tight grip. "I hate you! I hate you I HATE YOU!" Frustrated in anger and vulnerability he turned around, without watching where he was going he ran straight out on the road where the cars drove in an all too dangerous speed.

"WATCH OUT!" He heard a voice calling and then it all went incredibly fast. The headlights bedazzled his eyes making him unable to see the car that came to him at an incredible speed. In less of a second Hidan closed his eyes, realizing that he couldn't get away fast enough, preparing for the hit. Then out of nowhere Hidan felt someone throw himself in front of the car, giving the jahsinist a hard push so he flew to the other side of the road, where the cars have stopped.

Hidan groaned as he got up in a sitting position, holding a hand on the side of his head that had been hit against the ground. Then his heart stopped. On the ground, right in front of him Kakuzu laid unconscious with blood escaping trough his head. The time paused completely for the jashinist. He sat there in chock, staring with scared eyes at the man that he had claimed to hate. He wouldn't dare to make any moves, just observed how the others were panicking by now. Konan, Kisame and Deidara were by Kakuzu side, freaking out and trying to get contact with him. Sasori and Itachi were still at the side, calling the ambulance while Pein was barking at the desponded driver.

Hidan saw how his friends were trying to contact him as well, screaming to him, shaking his shoulders, drowning him in concerning questions. Although the words did not registered in Hidan's completely chocked mind.

_Why… _

___________


	10. Chapter 9

**Part 9 **

The ambulance had arrived in a couple of minutes and transported Kakuzu to the nearest hospital while the rest of them, including Hidan followed right behind in Pein's car. It was a bit tight considering the fact that they were 9 people in a car that was normally built for 4-5, but somehow they all made it.

Currently Hidan was placed on a bench outside of the hospital, impatiently waiting for the others to come out. Being too much of a coward he had decided to rather wait outside. He couldn't seem to get that carving feeling out of his chest. He was over tensed and incredibly worried about Kakuzu's present state. His head tilted up as he saw his friends walking out of the large gates. Hidan didn't spoke but they all could read his face, without any words understanding what he wondered.

Pein was the first one to speak. "Take it easy, he's alive." He said and Hidan relaxed a bit. "He's not even that badly injured" The pierced man continued. "Only a concussion and a few broken ribs. The doctor said that if he were lucky he would be out of the hospital in a couple of days."

"Oh." Hidan turned his gaze back to the ground.

The other exchanged looks with each other, not really sure about what to tell Hidan. It was certainly weird to see him act like this. They'd never had experience of any other behaviors then the angry, loud-mouthed one.

"I'll talk to him, un." Deidara said at last. He turned to Sasori before he walked over. "You can go Danna, I'll see you at home, un." He smiled.

Sasori returned his smile and nodded as he and the others were slowly starting to leave. Pein and Konan were taking their car while Zetsu, Tobi, Sasori and Kisame walked to the right. That left Itachi who was the only one that lived in the other direction.

Kisame stopped and looked over his shoulder. The weasel was already on his way but Kisame was determined to try connecting to him one more time. He spun around and hurried his steps to catch up with him. Of course Itachi noticed his steps when he was beginning to come closer but the weasel pretended not to notice and just kept on walking. An instant later he was almost forced to stop when Kisame places a hand on top of his shoulder.

"Itachi…" He said gravely, facing the weasel's back. "Please, won't you at least talk to me about it…?"

"Don't touch me." Itachi spat coldly and shifted his hand away.

Kisame started to get annoyed and wrinkled his eyebrows. Hasty he spun Itachi around, got a grip of his other shoulder so he was now held in between Kisame's arms. Kisame tried his best to make Itachi face him and not to overreact.

"Why, Itachi!? What have I done wrong!? Why won't you talk to me!?"

Itachi couldn't go through with facing the pain and agony that he could tell by the shark's voice. He slowly, without changing his expressionless face, turned his head up so his black eyes finally met the dark-blue ones. Kisame restively waited for a respond.

"I don't like you." Itachi said looking straight in to Kisame's eyes with his ice-cold gaze. Then he freed himself from Kisame's hands and continued to walk like the scene never took place, leaving the shark once again without words.

Without leaving the spot, Kisame watched in silence how Itachi slowly disappeared out of sight. He then closed his eyes hard and chuckled, not in the funny-way, but more like a pissed off chuckle. _So that's how he wants it… _

Deidara and Hidan who had watched the scene now observed how Kisame's, as opposed to Itachi's, heavy steps made their way out of the place. Deidara miserably shook his head.

"See Hidan, that's what happens if you don't confess your feelings."

Hidan snorted. "My problem is not at all like theirs…"

"Well, it has the same structure." Deidara said. "Go in and talk to him... You don't have to confess anything if you don't feel like it but he DID save your life. The least you can do is go in and check on him."

"I know." Hidan said without moving his eyes from the ground. "I can't believe I called him a coward… I'm the one who's the real coward right now." He let out a painful sigh earning a worried look from the blonde next to him. "You can go Dei, I will go visit him."

"Promise?"

"Yeah yeah."

"Say it…"

"I PROMISE!" Hidan growled and threw his head back so he was facing the sky.

"Very well then." The blonde said and got up from the bench. "I trust you to! See yah tomorrow!" He waved and in a few seconds Hidan was left all alone.

It was late in the afternoon and the sunset had already taken its place on the sky, coloring the whole area in warm shades of orange and yellow. A car drove by every once in a while, but most of the time Hidan had a hard time to catch any other noises then his own sighs, slipping from him unconsciously every now and then.

"Urg!" Hidan then groaned out loud and got up. He could as well grumble inside of the hospital. He gathered himself and walked in trough the large gates. The inside was quaintly calm and there were barely any people visible at all. A nurse greeted him kindly and showed him the way to Kakuzu's room that was located on the second floor. This meant he had to travel trough the elevator. Hidan didn't know if it was because of the elevator-ride or the fact that he was nervous about talking to Kakuzu but whatever it was; it made him feel dizzy and kind of nausea.

The sweet nurse left him too bee, once again, alone. only this time in front of a plain white door. His stomach twisted when he thought about going in there. Why in God's name did he have to be so nervous!? What was he supposed to say to him anyway? His head was overwhelmed with questions, although he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know the answers. With a deep breath he slowly turned down the doorknob. He tried his best to be noiseless as he entered the room, ever so quietly closing the door behind him.

What the fuck was wrong with him!? This what not at all like him, sneaking in quietly like some sort of-

"Hey."

Hidan jumped in chock at the sudden call and his eyes met Kakuzu's. Hidan quickly checked the room to discover that all the other beds were empty, meaning Kakuzu was currently the only patient. The room was quite big though and had large ass windows that allowed the warm light from the sunset to brighten the room.

Kakuzu was sitting on top of the covers wearing only a white pair of pants that he obviously had been given from the staff. He was shirtless and his black striped hair brushed against his bare shoulders. Hidan had most surely blushed if his attention hadn't gone right to the large stitches that were placed all across his chest. His eye's widened.

"D-d-did t-t-hose…?" Hidan stuttered, pointing at his chest. Kakuzu looked down at his scars then he chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh no no! I got these a long time ago." He explained to calm Hidan down. He succeeded when the jashinist relaxed his body and relived sighed in his mind.

It was a very awkward atmosphere, at least for Hidan. He was sure to keep his eyes to the floor, he wanted to ask so much but yet he couldn't find the right words. He then reacted at another chuckle from Kakuzu.

"What now?" Hidan hissed trough closed teeth.

"It's really fun to see you like this, you know…" With his eyes still lowered, Hidan couldn't read Kakuzu's expression but he growled as a reply. He was really not used to this.

"Give me a break, I'm trying…" He whispered, feeling himself consciously  
swallowing his pride bit by bit. Kakuzu didn't respond, just patiently waited for the jashinist to open his mouth again.

"… Why did you do it…?" Hidan said after a couple of minutes. His voice was almost inaudible. He was lucky that Kakuzu had been blessed with incredibly good hearing so he didn't have to repeat his almost silent words.

His gaze rose from the floor just in time to see Kakuzu shrug his shoulders carelessly. The sight trigged Hidan of and soon his normal mood had returned.

"What the fuck!? No! You can't do that!" He said through an outburst. "You can't just shrug your fucking shoulders when I asking you why you fucking threw yourself in front of a car, saving the life of a dammed person you fucking hate!!!" Hidan stomped the floor every time he swore.

The tanned man growled and seemed somewhat disturbed."That's funny…" He said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't believe I ever said that I hate you."

Hidan's face went blank. He didn't hate him? No. That wasn't true. How was it possible for Kakuzu not to hate him? Hidan had act like a jerk towards him – everyday! And not to mention all the times Kakuzu had been avoiding him, the ignorance, and the hateful glares. It didn't make sense. He tightened his fist and tried his best to not seem vulnerable as he took another deep breathe.

"Tell me the truth…" He said, once again catching the tanned-man's eyes. "You've done nothing but to prove that you fucking despise me. Why the hell did you save me back there, huh!? Tell me!!" The jashinist shrieked and almost felt like crying. His heart was aching and his mind completely dumbfounded. He felt so stupid. Standing there right in front of Kakuzu, revealing his weakest side. The side he didn't want anyone to see, especially not Kakuzu. But he couldn't help it, he was too confused and way too many thoughts were running through his head.

By not responding, Kakuzu didn't really help out. He silently watched Hidan, surprised by his somehow human behavior. He noticed after a while how the frustration he got from the silence was beginning to affect Hidan badly. Kakuzu then let out a deep sigh.

"Come here." He said along the sigh and motioned with his hand for Hidan to come closer.

_What… _Kakuzu could basically read that question from Hidan's confounded face. Now it was Kakuzu's turn to be frustrated when Hidan didn't make any movements.

"For god sake, just get over here!" He growled.

A new kind of confusion took place in the silver-haired boy's mind as he slowly moved closer to the bed. In an instant Kakuzu had got up and were standing on his feet. Hidan didn't know how to react when he all of sudden felt a large hand grab his chin, tilting his head up so they now faced each other.

He worked hard trying to read Kakuzu's mind but failed at the attempt. His face was unreadable, although he didn't look mad at all and was rather calm. Hidan almost felt like he drowned in the taller man's dark, green eyes and for the moment he could barely feel any rage between them at all. He then suddenly got tensed when he noticed the man in front of him was moving closer to him.

"Don't freak out, ok…?" Kakuzu's dark voice purred as he came even closer than before. Ever so slowly his lips were attached to Hidan's in a long, sweet kiss.  
For the second time this afternoon Hidan's time had stopped. Only this time he wished that it would never start again. His head still couldn't catch what was happening but he didn't care. Having Kakuzu's warm lips against his own was a pure bliss he never wanted to end.

Hidan was slowly drawn back to reality when Kakuzu began to withdraw, letting out a small chuckle as his lips became free.

"Is that enough for an explanation?"

"… No." Hidan said and let himself fall forward, burying his face in Kakuzu's bare chest. He closed his eyes, taking in the lovely scent and warmth from the taller one."But it sure made this more understandable."

"You're not resisting this…" Kakuzu smiled, of course unavailable for Hidan to see. "Does that mean you feel the same?"

Hidan nodded into his chest. "You already knew didn't you…?"

Kakuzu chuckled again as a reply. "It really was obvious."

Hidan had never felt like this before in his life. He was so ashamed of himself and he felt really weak and defenseless. At the same time he was happy. Happy and relieved that Kakuzu didn't hate him, but that he actually felt the same… That meant Deidara had been right.

_Bitch… He's gonna mock me for this. _Hidan thought and quietly growled. "Can I ask you something?" Hidan said without changing his position.

"Ok."

"… Why did you completely ignored me trough these past days?" He was still a bit embarrassed but he had to know the answer to this.

"Hidan…" Kakuzu sighed and placed his hands on the smaller man's shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, I don't hate you and definitely not wish you dead, but you're a real pain in the ass with your never ending yelling and the repeatedly insulting. I don't really have that tolerance."

"… I just wanted you to pay attention to me god dammit!" He said and punched his fist against Kakuzu's chest. Nothing that affected Kakuzu in any way.

"Sorry…" Kakuzu whispered and stroked Hidan's cheek with the back of his hand, the motion made Hidan silent for a couple of minutes.

"Kakuzu…"

"Hm?"

"You're high on morphine, right?"

"A bit actually." He admitted. "But I'm still serious about this."

"Bastard. Go back to bed; you've got hit by a freaking car!" Hidan withdrew himself from Kakuzu and turned to leave. Kakuzu reached for Hidan's hand and grabbed it before he had time to escape. "Hey, where are you going?"

"It's fucking late. I better go before they kick me out."

Kakuzu just groaned and let go of Hidan. "I'll be out in a couple of days." He mumbled.

The very awkward feeling hadn't really left Hidan yet and he mumbled a good bye before he turned to leave. He stopped again when he heard Kakuzu call out his name. Hidan didn't respond, just turned his head around so he could see him. Then for the first time he saw that Kakuzu's lips were turned up in a small smile, causing Hidan to almost blush at the sight.

"You're awfully cute sometimes, you know that?" He said and widened his smile.

Hidan's blush grew larger as he sent a pissed glare across the room. He said nothing as he embarrassed walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Even though that last thing had upset him his heart felt considerably lighter now than before. A tiny smile was visible at the corner of his mouth as he left the hospital in hope of Kakuzu getting better by tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

The night had almost taken over the entire sky and the only thing lighting up the suburban district was the streetlamps. The cold, obscure light reflected on Itachi's pale skin every time he passed a new coming lamp.

His head was lowered, in deep thoughts his mind kept travelling back one and a half hour ago when he had once again turned his back at Kisame. His words hadn't come out right at all. "I don't like you" weren't the words he had meant to say, but for some reason his mouth had refused to utter ;"I hate you". Hate was a strong word to Itachi. There were a lot of things that he didn't like, but only a few things he actually hated. And Kisame definitely wasn't one of them.

The shark wasn't the only one who had suffered these past days. Each gaze they shared, each time he forced himself to turn away, each hurtful look he couldn't avoid to catch in the shark's eyes had filled his heart with pain and regret. The fact that his own selfishness was causing Kisame this much trouble almost made him change his mind. But he could not turn back. Not now. Kisame should have gotten over it, but what about himself?

He tightened his arms around himself as he shuddered at the cool wind. He really should have taken the shorter way home; he was beginning to freeze his ass off… He would get over it. Soon enough. Until then he just had to bear with it.

He was a bit relieved when he spotted his apartment from a far distance. Right now, all he wished for was to go to sleep and forget about this awful day. That thought vanished when a sudden movement made him lost sight of his apartment by being pulled into a small alley. In shock Itachi squirmed under the arms that prevented him from escape. He couldn't see clearly in the dusty shadows but there were definitely three of them. Two on each side of his arms, holding him down and one right in front of him, allowing Itachi to see the contours and messy hair of the tall man that a moment later let his voice out.

"Hello Itachi-kun, we've been waiting for you." His dark voice chuckled.

_Kuro… _

Itachi silently cursed. He could clearly smell booze and smoke coming from their heavy breathes. This was not going to end well.

For an amount of two seconds he thought about how he could escape. If he put all his efforts into it and broke free from his current hold-down he maybe could manage to run fast enough to get home before they caught him. But with that plan he had to get past Kuro first which could be rather complicated. Who was he kidding? He wasn't strong enough to get past either one of them. In this state he couldn't even move a muscle, trapped under four strong burly arms.

He froze when Kuro suddenly approached him. The brown-haired man stroked his cold hand along Itachi's pale cheek.

"Don't you know better than walking around this late? Where is Hoshigaki?" He laughed. "Shouldn't he be here to protect you?" He mumbled as he inspected every detail on Itachi's face, seeking unsuccessfully for response.

His heart ached when he thought about the shark again. Itachi was not going to deny it. As Kuro spoke the only thing he could think of was how much he wanted Kisame there with him right now. Not only for protection. He missed how just a gaze from the shark made him warm inside and the somehow safe feeling that secured him from all fears. By now Kisame probably should have given up on Itachi. But that was good right? That was what he wanted to happen; he had consciously brought this to himself… but it still hurt.

He woke up from his thoughts when he suddenly felt a hand grope him roughly in between his legs. Disgusted by the hard touch from Kuro Itachi began to wriggle in an impossible hope of being released.

"Let me go." Itachi hissed trough his teeth, receiving nothing but a smirk from the larger man in front of him.

"Why would I?" He purred seductively. "The fun has just started."

As Kuro's hand kept going lower Itachi felt the panic rush over him. He didn't want this. He certainly didn't. If he didn't fight back soon he would most likely get raped. In a hesitated but quick move he pulled up his leg, knee-kicking Kuro hard in his crutch. The man immediately fell to his knees, curled into a ball and swore almost worse than Itachi ever had heard Hidan swear in his life.

"Y.. You bitch!" He growled as he got up from the ground, furious eyes attached to Itachi, his face twisted in pain and a look that could kill. Right after he recovered from the worst pain his hand reached down in his pocket. "Grab his legs, you washouts!" He ordered and moments later a knife was revealed in Kuro's right hand. Itachi struggled as the two men that held him back now got a grip of his legs, preventing him from using the kick-attempt once more.

At the same time Itachi panicked under their strong hold, Kuro grabbed the weasel's chin and brought the knife close to his face.

"I'll teach you for that." He whispered as he slowly drew the knife along Itachi's smooth cheek.

The Uchiha squeaked in pain as the sharp blade left a deep cut on his cheek. The warm blood slowly made its way down his face, leaving a burning feeling on his skin.

Itachi didn't usually let people scare him; it was quite the other way around. Almost everyone tended to avoid him because of his unpleasant appearance and he was used to be scaring people off. But this time, Itachi was the one who was terrified. He tried his best not to let his face show the emotions that were building up inside of him. He had been exposed to Kuro's violence before, but how far could this guy go?

One glance from Kuro's eyes and the statement was clear. Rape wasn't bad enough; if Itachi kept on resisting this they could actually kill him. At the same time; only a fool wouldn't try to resist. Itachi almost felt tears gathering in his eyes as Kuro once again violated himself onto him.

Itachi had never really seen any point in living, the bigger part of his life had been nothing but disappointments and bad memories. But he didn't want to die. Not now. But he couldn't just give in, what was he supposed to do?

_Kisame… _

The wound on his cheek stung painfully when the salty tears ever so slowly made their way down the weasel's face. Oh how he wished he could rewind this past week and make everything different. His goal had been achieved; the shark no longer cared for him. Due to that, he didn't have to worry about getting hurt when the shark would no longer stand him.

He knew he was being too sentimental, but somehow, ignoring Kisame like this felt a thousand times more hurtful. '

_I'm sorry… I'm just a selfish bastard _

Itachi faced the ground below him as his tears now dripped for the edge of his chin, leaving small stains on the dirty ground.

Itachi stopped his breathing for a second when Kuro's hard hands suddenly stopped moving. He carefully looked up to see how Kuro had turned his face towards the street; eyes squinted by the light that was hitting his face. "Why are you here?" Kuro growled and wrinkled his eyebrows as he kept his gaze towards the light.

Itachi almost didn't dare to move and held his breath as he carefully turned his head as well.

Through the light that was blending his eyes, he could still point out the body shapes of the person standing in the dimmed light. A wave of emotions washed over him as his heartbeat picked up its pace.

"None of your business." The man replied in a cold tone but for Itachi, it was the warmest voice he had ever heard.

"Kisame…" Itachi whispered in a soft shudder as he fought without success for his tears to stop.

Before Itachi had any time to react, Kuro had him pressed up against the wall, knife steady in his hand as he held it threatening against Itachi's throat. "Get him!" He demanded the two guys who by now had released Itachi and were heading against Kisame.

Constantly the weasel felt how the blade brushed lightly against his neck as he, confused and horrified, did nothing but observed the fight. To his relief, Kisame totally had the upper hand, even though they were two against one. He was taller, slimmer and way more muscular than both of them, who were now throwing their large fists against him in punches.

Itachi's eyes were almost as widened as Kuro's, stunned by the shark's amazing movements. He looked like a stuntman taken from an action-movie. His well-trained body almost danced as he dodged and blocked each punch and assault perfectly , even though he couldn't completely get away from getting damaged. Itachi felt himself getting tense whenever the shark received a hit.

After barely ten more minutes Kisame was the last one standing. The other two were lying defeated on the ground, one had passed out and the other one was begging him for mercy. Kisame granted his wish and then finally turned his head against Kuro and Itachi who had remained in the same position.

Desperately Itachi tried to gain the sharks gaze but failed. Kisame's eyes were glued on Kuro, teeth exposed and face looking like he could run over there and bite him to death any second. This side of Kisame reminded Itachi of the day the shark had hit Kuro in the classroom, it was something about him that changed unawarely and it slightly scared the weasel.

Without any warning, Kuro hastily withdrew, causing Itachi to stubble forward. With his knife raised high in the air, he ran at top speed towards Kisame, ready to stab. Itachi's jaw dropped in a silent scream but his fears were mistaken when he noticed Kisame quickly dodge right before he grabbed Kuro's wrist. Without letting go, he turned the man around, forcing Kuro down to his knees by pressing a foot aggressively against his back. The pain Kisame caused his wrist and back made him release the knife, letting it fall to the ground with a small thud.

Kisame was quick to pick it up and then pressed his foot down harder as he let go of the wrist, making him fall forward, face hitting the hard ground. Coughing, Kuro stumbled to stand up and turn around, only to face Kisame's glaring murderous eyes behind the knife which was pointed right at him. "Leave." The shark's ice-cold voice ordered. "I won't hold back…"

Kuro looked back in complete despise, grounding his teeth together. He then kicked one of the guys that were still on the ground, forcing him to get up and then they quickly disappeared in silence.

In total shock Itachi's watery eyes stared at Kisame who had his back turned against him, panting slightly as he regained his posture.

The weasels head was spinning. There was so much he wanted to say, wanted to know, and wanted to make sure. But most of all, he wanted the shark to look at him. One glance to be sure Kisame was himself, that he hasn't completely changed, that he… cared. Screw it if he got hurt, what matter the most was how much he cared for Kisame right now.

He couldn't find the courage to speak when he noticed the shark wasn't turning around. Itachi's mind was going crazy. _Look at me… _

But Kisame didn't move. As the silent minutes flew by, Itachi felt how he was once again brought to tears.

Kisame then took a deep breathe without changing his position.

"Look…" He began, quickly bringing Itachi's attention to him. "I actually came here to speak to you. I had no idea what Kuro was planning to do." As he spoke, Itachi noticed how he curled his fist together. "But…" he continued. "I've been thinking. And if it makes you happy I'll leave you alone from now on. Just promise to make sure Kuro won't hurt you anymore." He then stopped and took a deep breathe again. "Just let me know, and I'll leave right now."

He couldn't take it, his tears had began to fall again and he slowly moved away from his spot. Still shaking, he approached the shark and without looking up, he grabbed the sleeve of Kisame's shirt. The slow action caused Kisame to turn around and finally face the broken weasel.

"I'm sorry…" Itachi weakly stuttered. "P-Please… Please, d-don't leave me." He sobbed and buried himself in the fabric on Kisame's arm.

The shark's face softened as he let a small relieved sigh pass his lips. He then withdrew from Itachi and got down on his knees, back turned against the weasel in a gesturing mode. "Get up." His now soft voice gently ordered.

Itachi lingered for a few seconds but then he carefully climbed on, instinctively throwing his arms around the shark's neck to prevent himself from falling. The heavy weight on his heart was all gone and he sobbed quietly as Kisame carried him trough the streets.

"Hey, Itachi, come on, stop crying…" The shark said in a sad but sweet tone, showing gently how he disliked the sound of him crying. "I'll take you home, ok?"

Itachi nodded, making sure the shark felt his reply. Since when did Kisame know where he lived? On second thought, it didn't matter. Itachi closed his eyes as he let the warmth from Kisame warm him up as well as he peacefully drifted off.

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	12. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

His blissful rest only lasted for a couple of minutes, yet it seemed like an eternity. Just being able to feel the pleasurable warmth from the larger body that carried him made all the pain in Itachi's heart fly away like a bird. He was slowly brought back to consciousness by a familiar voice calling his name.

"Itachi?"

"Hmm..?" He mumbled.

"I need your keys."

Itachi opened his eyes and noticed that they were placed right in front of his door.  
"Deidara told me where." Kisame said, simply answering the weasel's unspoken question. "Now, can you hand them over?" Itachi immediately reached down his pocket to take out the small key. He placed it cautiously in Kisame's open hand.

The shark carefully received the small metal piece and made it click when he opened the door and walked straight in, without releasing the smaller man.

Itachi felt a bit awkward as they reached his bed, slow but steady the shark put him down on top off the covers. "Do you have a first aid kit?" He asked. Itachi nodded and motioned to the small bathroom on the other side of the room. He then viewed how the shark turned around to obviously go fetch it.

When the shark had left Itachi lowered his gaze and placed his hand over his own stomach. It was still something inside him that hurt. Guilt perhaps. He had really screwed things up. Why was he always so selfish, so stupid, so careless, so-

Itachi flinched back when Kisame suddenly were in front of him again. The shark raised his eyebrow and Itachi became unaware of what to do. Kisame sighed and got down onto his knees as he poured some liquid onto a wad of cotton.

"This might stung a little, try to hold still." He almost whispered as he softly held Itachi's face in the palm of his hand and cleaned the wound that covered his cheek.

_Like THAT would be the worst pain… _Itachi sadly observed his rescuer that didn't seem to be much happier then himself. Hi eyes were focused on cleaning out the deep cut and he didn't seem to notice how badly Itachi searched for his gaze.

"Mind explain to me?" He said after a while when he had finished.

Itachi who until that time had wanted to meet with the shark's eyes now felt embarrassed when his wish was granted. He lowered his head and he was convinced that Kisame saw right trough him. "Would you believe me if I said I was afraid you would abandon me?"

The shark wrinkled his forehead. "Abandon you? Why?"

Itachi looked away as he was trying to hide himself behind the dark hair that hung loosely around his face. "I'm... weird. I guess I… well… you... might not, you know, bear with me for a longer time, and I figured…" Itachi growled at himself for not being able to speak clearly.

"Look." Kisame said as he turned Itachi's face towards him, forcing the weasel to look at him. "I know you're a bit different, but don't worry, I am different too. Different doesn't have to mean bad." His face softened a bit as Itachi almost drowned by looking into his dark blue eyes. "You won't scare me off, I swear. I don't want this to ruin our friendship."

_Friendship._ That's right. It was that little problem too.

The shark at once seemed to take notice of Itachi's sudden uncomfortableness and bent his head to look at the Uchiha. "What?" Kisame asked and Itachi knew he could see the pink blush that covered his cheeks.

"Nothing." Itachi answered quietly and made an attempt to escape his gaze. To his surprise Kisame got up on his feet and sighed like he had just surrendered a battle, looking down at Itachi in defeat.

"I should probably go. It's late and you need to sleep. Itachi, promise me that... You'll…" The shark's words drifted away and Itachi looked up to notice how Kisame struggled to keep his eyes open, looking like he was about to pass out. Itachi ´s eyes widened. The exhaustion from the fight earlier must be coming back at him now. Automatically, Itachi stood up to prevent Kisame from crashing to the floor. Forgetting his current weakness, Itachi couldn't stand a chance against Kisame's heavier body and they fell together right back onto his bed.

Itachi squirmed under the warm body and anxiously called out the shark's name repeated times. He never got any respond but managed to move his own back up against the wall so Kisame's head rested in his lap. Itachi laid one hand on Kisame's forehead and moved his fingers to his neck to check his pulse. Kisame was breathing but he was burning up. The probability of having a fever was high.

"Stupid shark, fighting for me even though you're under no state what so ever!" Itachi quietly muttered as he reached for a couple of pillows. He carefully lifted Kisame's head to place one pillow underneath and the other one behind his own back to avoid the uncomfortable wall.

The apartment was the same as any other night. No lights were turned on and the moonlight cast an obscure light trough the room, creating shadows on the empty walls. Itachi was on his bed, thinking, as usual. Only this time the small sounds coming from the refrigerator in the kitchen, or the sounds of his neighbors next-doors was inaudible to him. The only thing he could hear was the soft breathing that escaped Kisame's mouth as Itachi ran his fingers through his smooth, dark-blue locks.

Kisame was in deep slumber, nothing that disturbed Itachi in any way. This way he could look at him as much as he wanted, touching his hair as well as his skin. Although he was overly happy to sit with him like this he still felt slightly miserable for never being able to confess his feelings.

He wasn't mad at Kisame for taking his fight. He was mad at himself. He was going to quit being stubborn, and quit shutting Kisame out of his life. He just had to trust Kisame not to hurt him… at least not all too badly. But doing all this for Itachi must meant that he cared for him, right?

If Itachi had had the psychical power to remove his fingers from Kisame's hair he would have slapped himself in the head. Just because the shark cared didn't mean he was gay. Itachi sighed and closed his eyes. The comfortable smell and warmth from Kisame once again made him sleepy. His concerns had to wait until the morning because right now he was more pleased and happier than he had been in a long, long time.  
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	13. Chapter 12

**Part 12 **

"Hidan, why haven't you changed your clothes?"

Hidan raised a brow at the question coming from the shark next to him. It was early in the morning and Hidan, Kisame and Itachi was currently in the sports-hall in await for the teacher to be present at the first lesson of the day.

"Pfhe!" Hidan spat. "Like I would participate in this stupid lesson!"

"Then why are you even here?" Itachi mumbled bitterly, a bit disturbed by his loud presence.

"Then where do you suggest I'd be!?"

Itachi sent him a worn-out cold glare. It was obvious to anyone that without Kakuzu around Hidan found the time incredibly tedious. He groaned with a sigh and spun around. "You losers are fucking boring! I'll go bother some other fucker. Where's that stupid blonde…" Hidan's mumbling words faded away as he walked out of the undersized hall.

"Thank god." Itachi muttered.

Kisame chuckled and scratched his neck with his left hand as he gazed down at the weasel. The shorter boy kept his head down, not entirely sure however or not he wanted to face the shark.

Last night he'd peacefully fallen asleep while Kisame's head still rested in his lap. Without noticing whenever Kisame got up Itachi woke up to the smell of new-made breakfast on his small kitchen table. The shark had smiled awkwardly and apologized for passing out so suddenly last night and they shared a pleasant breakfast together before taking off for school.

Now they were standing next to each other in their workout –outfits. Kisame seemed decently happy again and was calmly leaned back against one of the walls. Minutes walked by and neither one of them appeared to be disturbed by the silence. The sound of the others student's voices, laughs and noisy footsteps echoed between the walls madly. Itachi every now and then moved his gaze towards Kisame who never changed his position and was staring out into nothingness, looking like he had something in mind.

A sudden blow from whistle made both their heads turn as the gym-teacher yelled and commanded everyone to gather around.

Hidan was all by himself; arms folded behind his head as his intense footsteps echoed through the empty corridors of the school. He sighed vocally as he stopped next to a window just in time to get caught by the dazzling sunlight.  
He squinted his eyes and held them there so he could get some time to adjust. When the light no longer harmed his eyes he took a brief look at the outside. The sky was attractively blue and cloudless. The sun gave light to the area outside and a couple of birds flew by. Hidan snorted.

"Damn you fucking joyful mood…" He growled and began to move again. He was so unbelievably bored he soon couldn't take it anymore. If only Kakuzu was here, at least he would have someone to annoy. Someone who he actually enjoyed spending time with even though Kakuzu was a crappy responder. He grinned to himself.

_Maybe I should pay him a visit… _

After barely ten minutes of playing overestimated dodge-ball Itachi gave up and loosed out on purpose. He sat himself down on a bench with some other random students and quietly watched the game go on. Kisame seemed to have his mind completely focused on the game and successfully managed to survive the hits which came flying in his direction; moving his slim muscular body admirably across the floor.

Itachi shook his head as he tried to shake those thoughts away and then forcefully began to rub his temples. He flinched when a felt a body close to his right side as he turned to see a very blonde girl smiling up on him.

"Hi Uchiha-kun." She said sweetly. Long, black lashes framing her blue eyes.

Itachi raised a brow. "You know my name?"

The girl laughed. "We're in the same class, stupid!"

_And yet I don't care to learn your name. _He thought to himself.  
As any other of the people in this school, except for Kisame, this girl was just bothersome. She started to talk eagerly about something that Itachi had no interested in listening to what so ever. Yet, he didn't feel like being rude to her so he just kept his gaze at her and nodded every now and then. After a while he felt how she had moved herself closer to him. He smirked at her stupidity when she flashed with her long lashes and ran her fingers through her hair in an obvious attempt to flirt with him. Guess his gayness wasn't so apparent after all…

After ten minutes of extremely pointless jabbering Itachi was beginning to grow tired of pretending to listen. He suddenly stiffened when he felt yet another person settling down next to him. He slightly turned his head and then softened when he saw Kisame's face. Apparently he'd got tired of playing as well.

Itachi was struggling to hold back a blush when he noticed how close Kisame had placed himself next to him. Their legs were brushing against each other on the small bench and he could hear the shark's somehow unsteady breathing only a couple of inches from his ear.  
Kisame's usually calm face was twisted in a grumpy expression and Itachi failed to catch his gaze. _What's up with him all of sudden…? _

The lesson passed by as the blonde girl kept on hitting on him. Every now and then Itachi glanced over at Kisame who still seemed untouchable, staring plainly out in the air with the corners of his mouth turned down bitterly.

Once again the teacher blew the harsh whistle and declared the lesson to be over, all the students were now to leave the hall. The girl jiggled a good bye and ran off to a couple of her look-a-like friends. She sent a blow kiss in his direction before taking off. Itachi stared in surprise after the girl. He almost felt like burst out laughing but had enough self-control to abstain. Kisame on the other hand growled quietly as he pulled Itachi up with him.

"Come on, let's go."

They made their way to the locker-room and got changed in silence, although the noise coming from the other boys was more than enough to cover up for it. Itachi tried his best not to look Kisame's way when they changed out of their workout-clothes. He certainly didn't need to observe that right now. Plus he couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong with the shark. He avoided to look at Itachi and kept quiet while the irritable look still remained on his face.

"What's wrong…?" Itachi asked when the last boy had abandoned the small locker-room, leaving the two of them all by themselves.

He couldn't stand having Kisame like this and not knowing the problem. Kind off reminded him what a pain in the ass he must have been to Kisame. And everyone else for that matter.

The shark muttered something inaudible as he kept stuffing his things into a bag.

"What?" Itachi asked in a demanding tone.

"Do you like her?" Kisame simply asked, face blank.

_What? _Itachi thought without repeating his former question. "Who?"

"The blonde one."

"I just meet her…"

"Answer my question." Kisame almost growled.

"What's your point?"

Before he knew it Kisame had grabbed his shoulders and backed him up against the closest wall. His hands heavily relied on the wall on each side of Itachi's head as Kisame's dark blue eyes stared into the onyx ones of Itachi.

"Itachi…" He mumbled as he inspected the reaction of Itachi's confused face. "How do you feel about me?"

This time Itachi couldn't prevent it. He felt how the blood ran through his cheeks as he failed to remain composed. "I-I… I don't, I mean, you, or, I…" He tried but his words abandoned him as he once again drowned in the shark's eyes. He was so close Itachi could feel his breath brushup on his face and the scent of Kisame was almost like a drug to him.

Neither of them managed to utter any more words as they were gradually drawn closer to each other, like a magnetic force combining them. Itachi felt his mind completely disappear as they ever so slowly sank in to each other's lips.

The wonderful kiss only lasted for a minute, although it seemed like an eternity for both of them. Kisame withdrew carefully as Itachi unwillingly let go as well. His dizzy eyes met with Kisame's, which were pretty much the same state.

"I… I didn't think you… felt this way." Itachi weekly managed to say.

"Are you kidding me?" Kisame gently smiled and cupped his hand around Itachi's cheek. "How could you not tell?"

Itachi neither could nor wanted to figure out a proper reply so he did what his heart desired and threw his arms around the shark's neck, regaining the breathtaking sensation of Kisame's lips against his own. The shark responded and started to move his lips along with Itachi's. He cautiously dipped his tongue into the smaller man's mouth and Itachi let him in with pleasure.

Their tongues battled each other for a couple of minutes before Itachi found the delight of being submissive. Kisame's tongue travelled across the roof of his mouth, causing Itachi to shiver and moan into their kiss.

After ten minutes of a blissful make-out they reluctantly broke apart. Panting like mad, both of them gasped for oxygen.

"I take this… as if you feel the same?" Kisame said in-between gasps.

"…Yeah." Itachi whispered and his lips formed a small smile when Kisame gently caught him in a tight embrace.  
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	14. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

Hidan had left the school on his own and walked straight to the hospital without any warning. When he walked through the main gates he glanced up at the watch that hung firmly on the wall next to him. Twelve twenty-five. The visiting hours wouldn't start but in thirty-five minutes. To his advantage, none of the nurses seemed to be around. He guessed they were probably on lunch-break or something trivial. The jahsinist scanned the area quickly before he smirked and sneaked rapidly through the reception, turned right and ran up the stairs to the second floor.

When he reached the large passage he spotted a nurse placed in the entry of Kakuzu's room, looking down at her journal and writing down some quick words. Hidan waited 'till she was all gone before quietly sneaking up to the door and entering the room.

"Oi, fuckface?" Hidan shouted as he closed the door behind him. When he didn't get any reply he approached the bed only to realize that Kakuzu was soundly asleep. The tanned man laid on his back while his head rested on a soft pillow, allowing his stripped hair to reach out all over it. His breath was rather heavy and inaudible words were quietly mumbled trough his teeth.

Hidan groaned as he collapsed on a chair placed alongside the bed. "If I knew you were going to sleep I could've might as well stayed in school!" He muttered.

The silver-haired teen then kept quiet and watched the sleeping man for a couple of minutes. His forehead was wrinkled and a troubled look covered his face. Hidan carefully reached his hand out and placed in on top of Kakuzu's forehead. His eyes widened when he felt the burning skin under his hand; the man had a huge fever.

Hidan then squeaked when a large hand unpredictably grabbed his wrist and before he knew it Kakuzu's green eyes were staring up at him.

"What are you doing?" His dark voice mumbled.

"Dude, you were looking like you were fucking tortured! You have a serious fever, do you kno-!?"

"Ugh." Kakuzu groaned, interrupting him. "No. I mean, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"

"Because it's fucking boring, that's why!" Hidan said as an obvious answer.

"So you actually find the time more enjoyable if you spend it here?" Kakuzu wrinkled an eyebrow before he tiredly closed his eyes.

"Then what if I do?"

"You should go back to school."

"You can't tell me what to do!" The jashinist blurted out. "There's no way I'll go back to that hellhole!"

"Hidan…"

"Besides, if you're so bothered by me being here, I'm definitely gonna stay!"

"Hidan..."

"Admit you're embarrassed by the fact that I totally have the upper hand no-!"

"HIDAN!" Kakuzu barked with what was left of his power. He glared at the dazed teen for a second before re-closing his eyes. "You make my head ache, just be quiet or leave!"

The jashinist stared at Kakuzu for a few seconds in silence before turning his gaze shamefully to the floor, assured of the fact that Kakuzu's eyes were closed. Maybe this wasn't the proper time to be loud-mouthed after all. Hidan could clearly tell that Kakuzu was in pain and needed to get some rest. Although, he didn't want to leave.

So for the first time he did what he had been told and obeyed Kakuzu. He kept quiet while reaming his position on the small chair. After ten minutes he was beginning to feel somewhat comfortable. His eyes were half-closed, his head resting in his right hand while he listened to Kakuzu's worn out breathing. A slighter peaceful feeling held him calm but he kept on wondering if Kakuzu were yet asleep or not. A small mumble made Hidan open his eyes. Kakuzu's back were turned against him so he couldn't possibly see the tanned man's face.

"Hidan…" He suddenly said in a tone that confirmed that fact that he was still awake.

"What…?"

"Can you… come here?"

Hidan blinked a couple of times as he stared at the visible side of Kakuzu. "Say what?"

"… Please?"

The word should have sounded weird, coming out as a whisper from Kakuzu's mouth, but instead a warm feeling crept up inside Hidan's chest. He hesitated if only for a second before warily walking up to bed and sat down on the bedside, next to Kakuzu.

For a peaceful moment Hidan's magenta eyes met with Kakuzu's. The jashinist then closed his eyes hard as felt a strong arm drag him down to the mattress. He held his breathe while Kakuzu's strong arms captured him, holding him close to his chest like he was a soft, fragile teddy-bear. It would be a lie if Hidan claimed not to like this position, yet he couldn't stop himself from struggle.

"Dude, what the heck are doing?" Hidan raised a brow at the larger man who refused to let go of his grip. "Weren't you the one who wanted me to leave, huh!?"

"Hidan, hush." Kakuzu exhaustibly sighed. "Just stay…"

Hidan glanced up at the tired man. Sweatdrops were slowly running down the man's forehead, he breathing was deep and he looked like he would fall to sleep any second. His body was hot and even though heat usually bothered the jashinist, this heat he would rather die than departure from.

"…Fine."

Meanwhile, Itachi and Kisame had managed to drag themselves out of the locker-room right in time for the others to return. Because of this they were quite early to their next lesson. Not even their teacher had got there yet. Kisame entered the room first, Itachi right behind his steps.

"Looks like we're early…" Kisame said as he threw his bag next to his desk and sat down on his chair, leaning back with arms folded behind his head.

"Hmm." Itachi mumbled and placed himself on top of his own desk, right in front of Kisame's, his face in the shark's direction. Surprisingly at it was; Itachi felt no embarrassment about the fact that just ten minutes ago they had been passionately making out with each other. In matter of fact, he couldn't possible imagine to separate himself from Kisame right now.

He inspected the shark's face carefully. The man's eyes were unfocused and his head turned to the window. He looked a little troubled, like he had something in mind.

"What are you thinking off?" Itachi asked as he the same second widened his eyes. Did he really just asked that? He always measured what to say repeated times before he spoke, but this time the words had just slipped out of his mouth.

Kisame turned his attention to the weasel, curled his upper lip into a soft smile and then lightly shook his head. "Nothing special." He answered.

"…" Itachi turned both his brows up in an 'I don't believe you'-look.

Kisame let out a sound that was almost like a combined chuckle and sigh. He then smirked and motioned with one finger for Itachi to come over.

The weasel took a small leap of his desk and came within reach of the shark unhurriedly. Kisame then rose from his chair as he leaned over the desk to capture Itachi's lips with his own. Itachi stiffened at the sudden touch but loosened up after just a couple of seconds, letting Kisame's arousing lips work magic against his. The weasel grabbed Kisame's shoulder to prevent his knees to give out as the shark teasingly licked his lower lip.

Itachi was the first one the brake the kiss when he realized the lesson should be starting soon. "Not here, dummy." He muttered while turning around. All of a sudden Kisame was right behind him, placing his hand on the weasel's shoulder to partly turn him around.

"You're so cute…" Kisame said as he placed a smooth kiss on Itachi's forehead. The Uchiha blushed and glared at the shark who sat back down, smiling that gentle smile.

"Hmpf…" Itachi mumbled as he sat down his own chair, the same moment the door opened and students were starting to attend the classroom.

_You're lucky I'm awfully in love with that smile… _

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	15. Chapter 14

**Part 14**

Itachi's mind was so unfocused he could hardly tell which kind of lesson he was attending. If he had to guess; he would say it was english-class, but he didn't bother to increase his mind into such a pointless question. The fact that he had been placed in front of Kisame this time, instead of behind him, was bothering his ass off. Not being able to observe the shark's movements, as he used to, was more frustrating then he'd imagined.

He thanked god when the teacher finally ended the lesson. As opposed to the rest of the class, Itachi and Kisame took it slow and departed the classroom last. The two of them barely managed to get through the door before being attacked by an agitated Tobi who jumped up and down.

"Itachi-san! Kisame-san! Have you seen Hidan? Tobi searched everywhere but Tobi can't find him…" The masked boy sobbed.

"Relax Tobi." Zetsu appeared behind him and ruffed the boy's hair. The rest of the gang soon revealed themselves behind the Schizo and Tobi.

"You guys haven't seen him, have you un?" Deidara asked.

"This morning he mumbled something about going bothering someone other than us…" Kisame said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, he wasn't attending math-class" Sasori stated.

"He went to Kakuzu obviously, un!"

"You think his pride would allow him to drag his shameful ass back there?" The voice of Pein suddenly said, making everybody jump. Apparently, he and Konan had shown up without anybody noticing it.

"Well, in desperation it's surprising what people can do." Sasori said, returning to the subject. "Remember Dei, the time you-"

"Lalalalala!!!" Pein sang as he covered his ears.

"Oh, very mature, sir leader."

"I don't wanna here your gay-stories! End of discussion!"

At the same time the jashinist was still placed in Kakuzu's firm embrace. The warmth was disturbingly comfortable, yet he couldn't find it to fall asleep. Kakuzu had been asleep for a couple of hours and judging by his breathing he was almost certainly awake, but obviously didn't bother to open his eyes.

Hidan traced his eyes from Kakuzu's face down to his bare chest. The amount of scars fascinated him. Even though he was mentally resisting the decision, his hand travelled up and the jashinist ran a pale finger carefully along a scar placed right under the tanned man's rib case.

"Having fun?" Kakuzu asked without neither moving nor opening his eyes.

Hidan choose to simply ignore his question. "How did you get these, man?"

"You really want to know?" Kakuzu asked, looking down at the smaller man.

"No, I'm just asking to make conversation."

"…"

"Ugh." Hidan groaned. "Of course I wanna know!"

Kakuzu grunted quietly as his face turned to the ceiling. "I was in a knife-fight a couple of years ago. At my old school."

Hidan kept his mouth shut, silently asking the man to continue. When Kakuzu didn't spoke, Hidan dared to talk again. "What the fuck? Where they six against one or something? You're scarred pretty fucking badly!"

"Seven, actually." Kakuzu said simply, causing Hidan to raise an eyebrow in wonder.

"What the fuck had you done to make them do that!?"

"Let's just say I didn't really treat them the way they expected me to." Kakuzu said and shrugged his shoulders.

"Still, that's a little overreaction…"

Kakuzu snorted and smirked down at the jashinist. "Look who's talking!"

"Whaaat!?" Hidan barked. "I don't overreact like THAT!"

"No but you're close to. And you're not even drunk or on drugs like those guys were."

"Shuut uuuuup…" Hidan moaned as he buried his face in Kakuzu's chest. The motion caused Kakuzu to sigh and shake his head.

"Why are you suddenly so snuggly?"

"Because of the warmth." Hidan honestly answered. "Why are YOU?"

"No idea." Kakuzu sighed as he ran his long fingers through Hidan's hair, messing up his hairdo.

"Dude, stop it! You're rui…ning.. my…" The jashinist's words died out when Kakuzu used his fingers to gently rub Hidan's scalp. The look of Hidan gradually closing his eyes and his face melting underneath the touch caused Kakuzu to smile.

"Looks like I found a weakness, huh?"

A muffling sound was the only reply that came out of the pleasured jashinist.

Itachi hardly managed to stumble through the front door before being dragged down to the couch by the larger blue man.

The weasel had gathered all his courage, throwing his pride aside and asked Kisame to walk him home at the end of the day. The idea of separating from him today just wasn't appealing at all. Luckily for him, Kisame had seemed more then glad to accompany him. What started out as a simple goodbye-kiss had turned into a make out session and Itachi had practically begged Kisame to come with him upstairs.

And now here he was, lip-locked underneath the body of the very attractive shark, caught tightly in his embrace. Kisame's traced his tongue along his palate, which sent shivers up Itachi's spine. His taste and scent combined was enough to drive the weasel crazy. They exchanged saliva for a few more minutes before breaking apart to get some air.

They panted in silence while gazing into each other's eyes. Itachi felt how the blush crept up on his cheeks but he couldn't bring himself to look away. Kisame then let out a relived sigh as he easily made them switch places so Itachi was now on top of him. The sharked used this chance to press Itachi closer to his body.

"I'm so glad…" He almost whispered, loud enough for Itachi to hear.

"…What for?" Itachi asked even though he knew what the shark meant.

"This." He answered simply while stroking Itachi's cheek carefully. "I got to tell you, the silent treatment was awful, man. Just... horrible." Itachi felt a ball of guilt curl up in his stomach when he heard how painfully Kisame uttered those words.

"… Sorry." The weasel miserably whispered. "I'm just… don't… want to-"

"Sch." Kisame hushed and placed a finger on top of Itachi's soft lips. " I know." He smiled. "I won't hurt you; you have my word for it."

"Why are you so sure of that?" Itachi asked, not making eye-contact. Before Kisame could answer he realized he should've developed the question. "I mean... How can you feel this way towards... me?" The whole fact that the shark was so caring about him just wasn't reasonable at all. He really couldn't understand why he deserved this kind of affection. To his surprise, Kisame replied with the same question.

"How come you feel this way towards ME?" Itachi now looked up. Kisame's face was calm, yet serious.

"… I just do." He said and looked away, embarrassed by the lousy answer. "And... You care. I don't know why you do, but… It makes me happy."

Kisame gently grabbed Itachi's hand and brought it close to his face. "It clicked." He said as he softly kissed his fingers.

"H-huh?" Itachi said, stiffening at the sensation.

"When I first met you. It clicked right away. And as time went by I kept on falling for you. I tried to hold back since I didn't want to rush anything, but the girl this morning made me completely lose it." He suddenly sat up, forcing the surprised weasel up with him. "Itachi…." The weasel once again drowned in the shark's eyes and the confession almost brought tears to his eyes. What was wrong with him?This warm feeling was whelming up inside him and made his blush unable to vanish. "I've never felt this way before. I just... want to be by your side. And make you mine. Only mine." Kisame's low voice said.

Right after finishing the last words, Itachi threw himself onto the stunned shark. "…M-me too..." He quietly whispered in Kisame's ear as he dug himself into the blue locks. He couldn't understand himself anymore. Never had he dared to get this close to someone before. Even though his sense had been telling him to keep his distance, his heart and body wasn't able to resist anymore. No one had ever made him feel this kind of love. No one.

"St-…" Itachi stuttered after being held tightly for a couple of minutes.

"Huh?" Kisame asked. "Did you say something?

"… Stay here tonight?"

Kisame smiled gently and placed a light kiss on the weasel's neck. "Got it."  
_________________________________________________________________


	16. Chapter 15

**Part 15 **

Itachi studied his reflection as he leaned over the bathroom-sink, looking into the medium-sized mirror. He had let his hair grow way to long again. It was released from its usual strap and now hung loosely over his shoulders. His face was pale as usual and blend in with the over-sized white t-shirt pretty well.

Even though he somewhere inside was extremely happy to have Kisame right outside in his living/bed-room, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He clearly remembered his own words from earlier in the afternoon, whispering in Kisame's ear, begging him to stay. The memory of himself made him bite down hard on his lower-lip. Since when did he do such things? It was all that stupid shark's fault. His entirely!

Itachi had had a couple of crushes before but nothing had affected him as badly as this time. But a 'crush' weren't the right word for this feeling. It was far more intense.

_Ugh, what the hell am I thinking!? _Itachi screamed in his mind while rubbing his temples with both hands. _I must be love-sick or something stupid… _

He took a deep breath as he twisted the doorknob around. Kisame was laid back in the small couch, his eyes withdrew their gaze from the TV the second Itachi walked out of the small bathroom.

"You ok?" Was the first thing Kisame said. Itachi stared at him for a couple of seconds.

"Yeah. How come?"

The shark simply shrugged his shoulders. "You look a bit pale, that's all."

Itachi frowned. _I thought I always looked pale… _

He passed Kisame in silence and approached his bed, settling down on the edge of it while glancing out of the window. It had already become dark and if he had to guess, Itachi would say the clock was around ten or eleven in the evening.

Though this wasn't the first time he and the shark were sharing the same bedroom, Itachi still felt something similar to butterflies in his stomach. In opposite to this time, all their previous times had been when at least one of them was unconscious. Now it was entirely intended.

"Hey."

Itachi was drawn away from his mind by Kisame's sudden call from the couch. "Yes?"

"Should I just sleep over here?"

Being polite in a time like this, maybe he could feel Itachi's tension. Still, the weasel wasn't entirely sure if he would be pleased with the shark sleeping on the couch tree meters away from him all night. No. Definitely not.

As a habit Itachi shook his head, forgetting that Kisame currently had his back turned against him and was unable to see his face.

"Well…?"

_Oh, that's right! _

"Um…" Itachi mumbled mostly to himself. "…No."

"You mind repeating that?" Kisame asked kindly.

"… You can sleep over here." Itachi whispered loud enough for the shark to hear this time.

As the shark rose to his feet and turned the TV off, Itachi crawled in underneath a blanked, turning around so he faced the empty wall.

_Stupid heart, stop beating… _Itachi thought as his heart speed up when Kisame came within reach of the bed, carefully laid himself down next to him. Biting down his lip Itachi whished the confidence from this afternoon could return as soon as possible. He tried his best to keep his breathing steady as he closed his eyes in a doomed attempt to fall asleep. He stiffed when he felt Kisame move and unexpectedly the shark had softly placed his fingers on Itachi's shoulders.

"Man, you're really tensed…" The larger man mumbled as his fingertips traced over the weasel's muscles, causing the butterflies in Itachi's stomach to increase. "If you roll over I can ease you up a bit?"

Itachi immediately came to realize that denying this offer would be more or less suicidal. So he obeyed and rolled over without making a noise. The breathtaking sensation of Kisame's fingers moving back and forward over his shoulders and scapula, massaging him tenderly, replaced the butterflies in his stomach with a shiver that ran all the way up his spine. For an amount of time Itachi enjoy the blissful attention until he couldn't restrain a small moan to pass his lips, causing Kisame's fingers to stop.

Itachi's eyes shoot right open. Oh fuck.

The weasels mind went absolutely blank and he didn't have a clue what to do now. So he held his breathe, waiting for Kisame's reaction. A laugh, a growl, something! But the shark didn't utter anything at all. Instead, Itachi felt himself heat up as Kisame bent down over his smaller body, placing a soft kiss at the back of his neck.

Itachi fought hard not to lose himself when the shark slid his hands under the over-sized t-shirt, caressing the weasel's hips with his warm hands. His lips still remained on the weasel's neck, lightly kissing the skin over and over again. He whimpered quietly as Kisame's hands moved closer to his thorax, using his long fingers to stroke the weasel's soft skin.

Itachi was surprised by how he wasn't anxious about this. After all he had never gone this far ever before. His heart was pounding madly and his breathe was uneven, but he knew more than anything in the world that he didn't want Kisame to stop. But yet...

"Ki-...Kisame, w-wait..." He whispered when Kisame pressed their hot bodies closer to each other. His hands then stopped and he withdrew his lips from Itachi's back, letting out a somehow shameful sigh as he vacated a bit from the weasel's body.

"Sorry." He mumbled and bit his teeth together. "It was way harder to resist you then I had imagined." He placed a last kiss at the back of Itachi's head and rolled of the baffled weasel, laying down right by his side. Itachi felt a wave of absence wash over him as soon as Kisame's body left his. "You wanted to sleep?" The shark assumed.

_Yeah like I could possibly go to sleep now._ Itachi growled in his mind as he slowly shook his head, causing the shark to gaze down at him in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" Kisame asked as he looked deeply into the weasel's eyes. The tone of his voice sounded worried. Like he had done some kind of mistake or displeased him, which in the reality was the total opposite of what he had done.

"No, it's just that…" He gulped as he removed his gaze from the shark's eyes, turning his eyes another direction as he gathered his mind. "I'm a virgin. And… you know… I might not..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Please you enough."

As he finished his words he dared to regain his eyes to Kisame who only stared at the weasel, mouth slightly open. It took a few more seconds before Kisame finally spoke. "Is THAT what was troubling you?"

Itachi nodded vaguely.

"So… " The shark whispered as he placed his hand right under Itachi's chin, tilting his head up. "You want to do it?"

"I-" Itachi stuttered and looked away again, somehow embarrassed. "I do, but I don't want to… dissatisfy you."

Itachi didn't even have time to blink before he was locked beneath Kisame's body again. Only this time, the shark had pressed his lips to the weasel's in a forceful yet arousing kiss. He combined their fingers together, pressing Itachi down to the mattress.

"Nnh…" Itachi moaned as he liquefied with Kisame's mouth, their tongues gently rubbing against each other. The fact that neither of them could breathe was nothing that mattered at the moment. Only the sweet sensation of Kisame's taste and incredible moves that made Itachi's mind go crazy. They broke apart and gasped for air, their half-closed eyes meeting once again.

Still panting, Kisame bent down close, their faces almost touching. "Wanna know something?" He asked while his lips turned into that tender smile Itachi loved so much. He then moved his mouth to Itachi's ear, his cheek brushing against Itachi's as his voice came out as a whisper. "I'm a virgin too."

Itachi had to wait a while before snatching up what he just had said. Realizing, the weasel widened his eyes to a point he had never widened hem before and stared dumbfounded up at Kisame. "Y-…You… Wha-…What?"

This was exactly the time to be speechless. Kisame couldn't be a virgin. He was handsome, tall, gorgeously nice and the sexiest person Itachi had ever met. He was beautiful, inside-out. How could this be possible?

Kisame suddenly started to laugh and Itachi came to realize that he must still be staring. "Why are you so chocked?" He smiled while stroking Itachi's raven hair.

"Beacouse… You…" Itachi shook his head. "Never mind."

Kisame smirked and reached down Itachi's waistline. "I wanted to find the right one." He murmured and smoothly detached Itachi's shirt from his pale body before tossing away his own shirt as well. Stunned by the shark's amazing body-shape Itachi felt a flush creep up his cheeks.

"Are you sure you found that one, then?" Itachi heard himself asking, still feeling not completely sure about his confidence. He yelped when Kisame's lips working against his abdomen once again brought shivers up his spine.

"I'm sure." His low voice said as he moved up, slowly capturing Itachi's lips. And Itachi gave in. He felt his mind become completely swept away. Melting together with his soft, gentle lover, Itachi devoted himself to Kisame.  
________________________________________


	17. Chapter 16

**Part 16 **

The sun had just risen and the streets were still empty. A thin fog lingered in the air and somewhere a bird sang his sweet song. This was probably the earliest time Kisame had even been within school-property. The doors hadn't even been opened yet. Not that it was something that concerned him at the moment. The shark stood upright with his hands in his pockets at the backyard of the school. Slowly, he saw how three figured began to appear from the fog as his lips turned into a small smirk. So he really came.

Kuro became clearly visible in the next second and immediately noticed Kisame, glaring at him in dislike. "So Hoshigaki, I'm here as you asked." He spat. "What did you wanted?"

Kisame frowned slightly at the two husky guys behind him. That jerk didn't have the guts to come alone after all. Not that it mattered in this case, just proved how much of a coward he really was. "I have a request." Kisame sternly said.

"I'm listening." Kuro answered; face stiff and dead-serious. Like he'd completely forgotten how badly his ass had been beaten by the blue man in front of him.

"I want you to promise me you'll lay off Itachi." The shark said as he gravely remained eye-contact with the brown-haired boy.

Kuro let out a chuckle and turned his head to sides, commanding his partners to join the laugher. "That's impossible. " He then said.

"And why is that?" Kisame said calmly, not changing either face or position.

"You see Hoshigaki, you and that weasel have already interfered in my way. Dropping the fight at this rate would be not only dissatisfying but humiliating and week! There's no way I could let him go free without getting either him or you beaten up." Kuro spoke with strong words, making his point crystal clear. But Kisame only smirked.

"Then I have a suggestion."

_A comfortable warmness surrounding him. The feeling of satisfaction from a wonderful slumber. A warm touch on his forehead, drawing gentle lines down his face. Was this touch for real or was it only an early morning dream? He could either open his eyes to confirm if he were dreaming, or keep them closed and savor the feeling as long as he could. As the minutes flew by he hardly noticed when the warmth gradually disappeared. _

The sunlight made its way through Itachi's window, hitting him straight in the eyes, and caused the weasel to roll onto his stomach as he groaned. What an evil sun. Disturbing the most wonderful doze he'd had since… ever.

Itachi waited a few more minutes before re-opening his eyes, yawing as he sat up only to find the bed empty. Shock was the first emotion that struck him as he hastily moved his head from side to side, scanning the room.

"Kisame…?" He called out. No answer.

Itachi felt the panic immediately creeping up like a bug inside him. But before it had any time to increase he saw the note lying next to him by the bedside table, instantly calming him down. He yanked the small paper away from its place and held it steady in front of his eyes.

**Needed to take care of a few things so I left early. Sorry; I'll make it up to you. Eat breakfast you skinny beautiful thing. See you at school.  
Kisame **

A loud, relived sigh escaped Itachi as he fell back onto the bed. He didn't even want to rethink what he was about to imagine. He glanced over at the clock. **6.15**. What on earths name was he doing this early? Itachi sighed and glared up at the ceiling. Even though it was hardly noticeable, a small smile took shape in the corners of his mouth. Oh well, he could at least sleep for half an hour more.

This day Kakuzu returned from the hospital. The doctor had recommended him to stay for another couple of days but Kakuzu had no intention what so ever to obey that. Of course Hidan had been after the pitiable man all morning, bugging him as if the whole hospital-thing never occurred.

The somehow cheerful and vigorous jashinist had once again being kicked out of the class and were presently singing out swears joyfully as he kicked a trashcan around. He didn't share this first lesson with Kakuzu so he couldn't care less about not attending the class. The sound of his voice combined with the can bouncing against the walls echoed through the corridors.

"BE QUIET OUT THERE!" He heard the teacher's nagging voice screaming from inside the classroom.

The entertained teen choose to simply ignore the reprimand and added a "Fuck you, stupid bitch." to his little melody.

"What are you doing?" A dark voice behind him suddenly asked.

The sudden recognize of the voice made Hidan jump as he spun around. He must have been gone into his own little world, 'cause apparently he had failed to notice when Kakuzu arrived.

"Ah! Kaku-chan!" The jashinist evilly grinned. The taller man glared down at him with a heated face, showing exactly his opinion about that nickname.

"Why aren't you in class?" Kakuzu asked and gazed over to the door in a questioning look.

"Got kicked out." Hidan snorted, almost proudly. "Why aren't YOU?" Kakuzu remained in place for a couple of seconds before purely shrugging his shoulders. Hidan only frowned at the gesture and raised a brow at him. "You're stupid!"

"You're going at this again?" Kakuzu sighed and rolled his eyes tiredly.

"Well, you're so ugly I can't control myself!" The jashinist laughed with an evil glare.

"…Rat."

"Dickhead!"

"Midget." Kakuzu grinned while he viewed the enjoyable sight of the anger whelming up inside Hidan, spreading out over his face. His height was the only insult Hidan couldn't argue back with.

"Y-y-you…" Hidan stuttered . Damn, he couldn't come up with anything. "You… SMELLY ROTTEN BUTT-UGLY PIECE OF CRAP! WHATEVER IS MAKING YOU SO UGLY, IT DEFINITLY WORKS GOOD!" The jashinist yelled right in the taller man's face and smirked successfully as Kakuzu's jaw muscles began to tighten. Unknowing of the fact that the tanned man was just as willing as him to play along, Hidan stared challenging into the green eyes.

Without prior warning, Kakuzu had pinned Hidan to the wall in one move. Slamming his large hands on each side of the jashinist head, his vicious eyes staring back at the triggered violet ones.

"Take that back…" Kakuzu hummed as he moved his hand to Hidan's throat, capturing him in a soft stranglehold.

"Make me, bitch."

"Very well, then." Kakuzu smirked and roughly pressed his lips to Hidan's in an aggressive kiss, slamming his head against the wall. The jashinist in return threw his arms around the taller man's neck, grabbing a firm hold of his dark hair and jerked it down eagerly.

At the same time Itachi had almost reached to breakpoint where he thought he might go insane. This classed he shared with Deidara and Sasori, who were completely unfocused to the lesson and constantly passed each other notes. Or if you claimed it the right way: Deidara sent the notes to Sasori who read them without answering. Nothing the seemed to disturb the happy blond though as he excitedly continued writing. God know what was written on those notes.

But the weasel's problem wasn't the two artists. It was Kisame. This lesson had been going on for exactly thirty-two minutes and the shark still hadn't arrived. Itachi cursed himself for not asking about his stupid boyfriend's cell-number. Only thinking that word filled Itachi's stomach with a warm feeling. Consider Kisame his boyfriend at this state wasn't wrong, right? They'd never really discussed that fact, yet the weasel slightly feared that it would be a stupid thing to bring up.

Itachi used his hands to cover his eyes as he groaned loudly in his mind. He couldn't take it anymore. Where the hell was he?

Ten more minutes passed by without any sign of the shark. Eventually Itachi couldn't take it anymore. He hastily rose from his seat and bolted out of the classroom. Quickly explaining himself by a crappy excuse of a headache, leaving their teacher somehow confused.

He had no idea where to go or what he was supposed to do, all he knew was that he if he stayed one more minute helpless in the classroom he would turn completely psycho. Man, one lesson without him and Itachi turned out like this? How was it even possible to get that attached to someone? No wait. The problem wasn't that Kisame weren't here. The problem was that Itachi had no idea where he was. He'd definitely said that he'd be here. Breaking his words was nothing like the shark at all.

As the weasel rounded a corner he had to stop when he caught sight of Kakuzu and Hidan only tree meters before him, fiercely sucking each other's faces off. The moment Hidan became aware of Itachi's presence his eyes widened and he pushed Kakuzu away, blushing ten shades of red.

"Couldn't care less." Itachi quickly stated the moment Hidan opened his mouth to defend himself. "You!" the weasel said as he turned his attention to Kakuzu whose expression was rather dozy. "You're Kisame's friend, right? You have his cellphone-number?"

Kakuzu nodded and brought his cell out of his pocket. He quickly searched up Kisame's number and handed it over to the weasel who rapidly copied the numbers on his own cell-phone.

"Thanks." Itachi quickly said and left the confused two alone, the cell instantly brought to his ear.

For each time the dial tone beeped Itachi felt his breathe become heavier and his worry rise even higher. He made his way through the whole school, reaching for the exit. As he stepped right out of the building the beeped stopped, informing him that the other line had been picked up. Both his heart and his steps stopped when Kisame's voice became audible.

"Hello?"

Though Itachi heard clearly that it was Kisame he couldn't find himself to calm down. The shark's voice was busted and he'd never heard him speak this kind of way before. "Kisame? W-Where are you!?" Itachi almost shouted. "You said you'd come to school, why aren't you here? What are you doing?" Itachi didn't care if he sounded paranoid. Something was definitely wrong.

"Ah, sorry 'Tachi." The shark nearly whispered at the other line. "I messed up. I'll be there soon.

"No." Itachi wouldn't wait any more. "Please Kisame, just tell me where you are?" A few seconds after Itachi finished his anxious words Kisame let out a painful sigh.

"At the backside."

"Huh?"

"The backside of the school."

_Why on earth… _"Ok, I'll be right there." Itachi hang up the call and started to run. Nothing made any sense to him. What was going on? And why did he sound so worn out? He tried to block out all the questions as he ran at top speed towards the backside, his heart picking up its speed. As he reached the last corner he stopped. He didn't have to search long for Kisame. The shark was leaned against the shadow part of the wall, eyes closed and body completely sore. The weasel felt a stinging pain in his heart as he hurried over to his lover as quick as he could. As he got closer he could see the large wounds that covered several parts of his body. Blood were running down both his head and lips and the shark's face were covered in bruises.

The weasel sat down right next to him and ever so slowly placed his hand on Kisame's cheek, tears building up in his eyes as he whispered the shark's name. Kisame groaned jadedly as he put his own hand on top of Itachi's and slowly opened his eyes. "Sorry Itachi…" He said and lightly kissed the side of Itachi's hand that he could reach. "I worried you, didn't I?"

"Who…Who did this to you?" Itachi cried as hid his eyes behind his bangs, trying to hide his tears as he gently grabbed Kisame's hand. A small but weak chuckle entered the shark's mouth.

"I kind off caused this myself."

"What do you mean?" Itachi said and let his wet eyes connect with Kisame's. The sight of his lover in this state caused the stinging pain in his heart to become even heavier.

"Let's just say Kuro won't bother you anymore." The shark calmly said and showed a frail smile on his face.

Several seconds went by without any reaction from Itachi. He just stared at the shark like he didn't believe what he'd just heard. Then suddenly it hit him. This was nothing more than self-sacrifice. The questions he'd been having the whole day now was answered and there was no longer any doubt in the weasels mind about what was going on.

"You… Let him do this... t-to protect me?" As if he were ashamed Itachi looked away. Fighting hard not to let his tears override his voice.

Kisame gathered the power to sit up and moved closer to Itachi. "Hey, you're crying again…" Somehow the current pain in his voice was different from the one he'd heard on the phone. Itachi felt how the shark moved his hand to his cheek and gently whipped the tears away.

"Stupid…" Itachi whimpered as he cautiously hid himself in Kisame's embrace.

"I know, I know. Stop crying, will you?" The shark begged as he soothingly kissed the weasel's forehead. Itachi placed his head in the crook of Kisame's neck, being careful not to burden him. Kisame's body was burning up and soaked from sweat and blood. Yet that special scent Kisame possessed had still managed to remain. Itachi closed his eyes and felt the shark's heart beating steady underneath him.

"I love you..." The weasel whispered so quietly he wasn't sure if he really had said it. For an amount of time the shark remained quiet.

"I love you too." He whispered back at last, arms tightly pressing Itachi close to his injured chest. His body then suddenly became awfully heavy, leaning at Itachi as support.

"Kisame…?" Itachi called but got no reply. He managed to get out of the hold and ever so carefully made Kisame lay down against the ground. He placed his ear right above the shark's heart and listened. It was beating, all right. He quickly typed in a text and sent it to several members of the gang, asking for backup.

"You'll be aright…" The weasel whispered as he ran his fingers through the shark's way too messy hair. "Stupid shark…"

_________________________________________________________________


	18. Chapter 17

**Part 17 **

"Itachi, cut that out this instant!" Pein growled from his high throne on the armchair.

"No." Itachi flatly said and bent over to nuzzle himself into Kisame's dark blue locks. The shark, whose sore body was presently resting on Pein and Konan's sofa, turned his lips to a faded smile as he reached out for Itachi's hand, combining their fingers together. His head was gently placed in Itachi's lap, on initiative by the weasel himself who'd just recently recovered from crying.

Right after Itachi had sent the message, Pein and Kakuzu decided to skip what was left of the school day for the sake of transferring Kisame to a more suitable place then the cold street. It was now evening and the rest of the gang had all been gathered in the apartment, Itachi refusing to turn his attention away from his lover.

"It's weird isn't it, un?" Deidara said and gazed over at the somehow gloomy weasel.

"What is?" Sasori asked who was right next to his blonde on the floor, his arm around Deidara's waist.

"Just look at him!" Deidara motioned his head in Itachi's direction. "I mean, could you ever imagine him to wearing such an expression for another human being?"

"Hey." Kisame interrupted from the couch. "He's not some kind of a monster." He said as his fingers moved delicately over the back of Itachi's hand, the weasel only looking down at him with wistful eyes.

"I wasn't saying that." Deidara chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just happy for you, un!" He cheerfully smiled as Sasori brought him closer to his chest.

Itachi finally found it in him to withdraw his gaze from Kisame as he raised his head and smiled. A motion that caused all of them to widen their eyes. He lowered his head and returned his attention to Kisame before anyone had any time to comment the sudden change in personality. After exchanging gazed with each other, Pein was the first one to break the silence.

"That was weird…" That remark caused him a smack in the head from his girlfriend next to him. "Ow!"

"You dummy. Isn't it great?" Konan smiled and hugged Pein's arm. "Itachi's finally so happy."

"Whatever." The leader sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Get one thing straight though!" the blue-haired woman said strictly and glared at Kisame. "If you ever leave him we have no choice but to kill you."

Kisame gulped but then eased up when Konan's sugary smile returned. The shark let a soft laugh pass his lips as he reached his hand up to stroke Itachi's cheek as he looked deeply into the onyx eyes. "Don't worry. I won't do such a thing."

Zetsu who had been sitting quietly on his chair now rose and picked up Tobi who'd fell asleep on the floor. "I think we're heading home." He said and threw Tobi onto his back, the smaller boy instantly grabbing a firm hold of the schizo's shoulders. "Night!" Zetsu said and waved as he carried Tobi and left the apartment.

"How about it, Itachi?" Kisame said and gazed up at the weasel. "You wanna go home too?"

Itachi nodded in agreement and helped Kisame get up from the couch. He carefully grabbed his boyfriend's arm and allowed it to rest on top of his shoulders for support. "You wanna stay at my place again?" Itachi asked while looking up at the shark. "I mean, it much closer to here anyway…"

Kisame's lips formed a sweet smile as left a kiss on Itachi's forehead. "Hey, I've been wondering…" He started and caused Itachi to curiously remain his gaze on him. "Why do you live all by yourself?"

The question made Itachi turn his eyes to the floor as he almost shamefully hesitated his answer. It's been some time since he'd thought about that. "I… I guess, me and my family don't get along well and, they probably thought that I was capable enough to live by myself so I had no real reason to live with them anymore. It's not such a big deal."

While Itachi continued to face the floor the shark unawarely created a distant look, like he had something in mind. "… Doesn't it get lonely?" He suddenly asked.  
"Huh?" Itachi's genius mind replied and caught Kisame's eyes.

"Living all by yourself, isn't it lonesome?"

For a minute or two Itachi stared in slight suspicion at Kisame's face. Asking such a thing, what was he getting at? Then he sighed and caringly grabbed Kisame's large hand. "Actually…" he started. "These last days haven't been that lonely at all." He almost whispered as he lowered his gaze, the smile slowly returning to his lips.

A warm wave washed over him when the taller man grabbed a much more solid hold of his hand and pressed their bodies closer together. "Let's go then." His sweet voice whispered in his ear as they walked out silence. That silence lingered for a whole minute after the door had been closed.

"… Did they forget we were fucking here?" Hidan said at last.

"So it seems." Sasori sighed while he leaned his head back against the wall.

"Pfhe, idiots." Hidan snorted. "Hey, Deidara! You gonna aim for maid of honor at their wedding?" The jashinist chuckled, but the statement only caused Deidara to turn around and grin evilly.

"Aw, are you sure you don't want me as maid of honor for your and Kakuzu's wedding then?"

Kakuzu who was sipping on a cup of coffee now choked on the warm liquid and began to chough violently as Hidan's face stiffened and his eyes grew so big they might had been able to burst.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY I'LL MARRY THAT UGLY PIECE OF JUNK!!!" Hidan screamed from the bottom of his lungs as he rose from his chair, frustrated eyes glued to the grinning blonde.

"What did you say now!?" The tanned man barked as he too rose from his seat to frown at the silver-haired one.

"I said you're ugly!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Bastard."

"Fuckface!"

Kakuzu then grabbed a strong hold of Hidan's hair and pulled him all the way across the room, the jashinist squealing in discomfort as he was forced to follow. In one move, Kakuzu had opened the bathroom door and threw Hidan inside, walking in right behind and slamming the door shut afterwards.

Several growls and screams were heard from the small room which later were followed by much more smoother sounds and suppressed moans, once again leaving the rest of room in silence and staring eyes.

"Kill me." Pein begged and slammed his head back against the wall.


	19. Epilouge

**Epilogue **

_Half a year later_

"Man, this sucks!!!" Hidan barked as he kicked aside a large stick from the jagged ground. The piece of wood dashed trough the air and left a small thud somewhere distant.

"Oh, when are you gonna quit complaining?" Itachi sighed and glared at the heated jashinist who glared back twice as hard.

"Shut it, Itachi! You don't even have to walk by yourself!"

That statement was true. The weasel was tightly snuggled into the side of Kisame's head as the shark gladly carried him through the narrow wood. Kakuzu walked two steps behind Hidan, quietly keeping his thoughts for himself.

Approximately, the four of them had been lost in this wood for an hour. You couldn't claim that neither one of them exactly approved the idea of taking a camping-vacation, although arguing was more or less out of the question. Konan, along with Deidara and Tobi, had practically forced the rest of the group into taking the weekend of for this particular purpose. Never would they'd imagined it would end up like this; lost in this wood and not the slightest idea where they were heading.

The somewhat dark clouds had just hidden the last sunlight on the sky and a chilly wind blew past them at a fast pace, causing the all leaves to dance around wildly. The jashinist quickly brought both his hands to the top of his head to prevent the dammed wind from destroying his hairdo.

"Mother-fucking wind!" He growled and stomped hard into ground. "I hate this shit!"

"Ugh, Hidan be quiet already! No one cares about your stupid hair." Kakuzu sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Shaddap! This all thing is your fault anyway!"

"How is it MY fault!?"

_Earlier this afternoon_

"Yahoo! Camping, camping! Can we unpack the tents now!?" Tobi sang joyfully as he danced pass the trees, unable to be still if even for a minute. Overexcited as always, he happily spun around in small circles and managed to move forward at the same time.

"We'll unpack as soon as we arrive on the spot." Pein muttered. Not even a bit positive.

"I told you, this thing is fucking stupid." Hidan complained from the back, already sick of walking, even though they had only travelled by foot for ten minutes.

"Well, you're not exactly making it any better!" Sasori snapped back at him. The red-head also belonged in the group of those who found this trip extremely pointless. His boyfriend on the other hand gladly sang along with Tobi, fully enjoying the trip.

"Cheer up; it'll all get better once we arrive, un."

"I'M SO BORED!" Hidan groaned from the bottom of his lungs.

"Can't you just shut up!" Kakuzu said angrily from behind, unable to withstand the regularly irksome voice right in front of him.

"YOU shut up!" Hidan said as he spun around and thereby forced the tanned man to stop as well.

"Don't just stop like that you idiot!"

"Idiot!? You want a fight!?" Hidan said as his eyes turned into battle-mode.

"Bring it on…" Kakuzu evilly growled as both of them tightened their fists and raised them as if to punch one another.

"Guys!" Kisame pleaded as he turned around to halt them, automatically causing Itachi to turn around as well seeing as their hands was at the moment tightly connected. "Can you PLEASE not do this here? We all know how it ends up anyway."

Hidan flinched back and tried his very best not to flush. "H-he started it!"

"You're so mature Hidan." Kakuzu sighed.

"Asshole!"

"Cut it out."

"Never!"

"Ugh…" Kisame sighed as he shook his head tiredly. No point in trying any further. "Let's just get going…" He said as he turned back around, only to face nothing but the wood. Silence took over the place as they all four dumfounded just stared at the empty space right in front of them.

Without anyone noticing, the rest of the gang had completely vanished, leaving neither sounds nor evidence on which way they could have taken. The scenery around them looked all the same no matter where they turned, unfamiliar trees and stones, not even a proper pathway were to found. It all looked identical.

"…Eh?"

_Back to present _

"That is completely YOUR fault, Hidan! Don't even think about blaming me!"

"It is NOT! And I won't argue about it with you anymore!" The jashinist snorted.

At the time Hidan had finished his sentence Itachi raised his hand for Kisame who did the same and high-fived the successful moment. Hidan glared hatefully over at the now smiling couple.

"Oh, go to hell."

Their journey through the foreign area continued for surely another half an hour. Itachi more or less fell asleep on Kisame's back while Hidan had lost all interests in complaining any further, something that the others felt was highly gratifying.

The drizzle that'd occurred ten minutes ago had now developed into a pouring rain that quickly turned them all soaking wet. The ground was mud-spattered; something that didn't accurately simplified their brave attempt to get out of this mess.

"We're doomed…" Itachi sighed, unable to sleep any longer in the heavy rain. Kisame and Kakuzu only sighed tiredly as their heavy footsteps forced their way through the muddy ground.

"Do you here that sound?" Hidan's dozy voiced asked as he swayed from side to side, drowsy eyes facing the grey sky.

"I hear rain…" Itachi mumbled, pretty much in the same state as Hidan. "Lots and lots of rain…"

"No…" Hidan used his willpower to shake his head; all for nothing since Itachi's eyes was half-closed and unfocused to anything but the so called road in front of them. "It sounds like somebody's calling us…"

"Hidan, you're hallucinating." Kakuzu sighed as he almost tripped over the drenched silver-haired one who was only inches ahead of him.

"No, wait!" Kisame said as he stopped, causing the rest of the group to hold up as well. "I can hear it too…"

"I think I do too but it's so vague…" The tired weasel whispered as he listened out for the voice to come back.

"GUUUUYYYS!!!!!!" The sudden strength of the voice caused all four of them to jump as they turned their head to the left. There, only fifteen meters away from them, stood a king-size cottage totally unpredicted. All of their tired eyes widened at sight of Tobi jumping up and down right outside the building, waving his arms. "HERE! WE'RE OVER HERE!!!"

After being brought into to warmth and given blankets and several cups of hot tea, they all managed to recover decently well within less than twenty minutes.

"Seriously… " Konan sighed as she rolled her eyes and served Hidan yet another cup of tea. The jashinist was comfy placed in front of Kakuzu, leaning against his chest with the bigger man's legs around each side of his own. A big blanked covering both of their bodies. "Getting all lost for over an hour, do you have any idea how worried we were!?"

"Like you guys are any better!" Hidan spat. "What's with this luxury-cottage, I thought we were supposed to be camping!?"

"Yeah, we were! But SOMEONE-" Konan glared over at Pein. "-though it would be much nicer to reserve this classy, so called cottage in case something would happened!" She turned her upper lip up in an irritated face.

"And SOMEONE was awfully right too!" Pein said and glared back. "You want to tent in the pouring rain, fine! But count me out!" The leader closed his eyes and took a sip of the smoking tea. The blue-haired woman just sighed once more and headed back to the kitchen.  
Although the cottage was too small to be called a house it still had room for four proper bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room with a large open fire. None of them had become conscious of when the evening had turned into night so quickly. Outside the sky was already dark, starts were almost visible behind the thick clouds and the wind lightly smacked against the windows every now and then. The crackling wood from the fire created a peaceful atmosphere which neither one of them had any urge to break.

Inside one of the rooms, Zetsu and Tobi had already fallen asleep. The younger man closely cuddled into the Schizo's chest, mumbling inaudible words about hamsters and candy.

Unable to keep his eyes open any further, Deidara was the next one to head for a bedroom. Dragging his Danna along with him, the two artists left the already quiet living room. Another half-hour went by and in time Pein and Konan went to bed as well.

Itachi had already fallen asleep, leaning his head against the shark's warm shoulder. Eventually, Kisame came to the conclusion that carrying his lover to the bed wasn't such a bad option after all. He said goodnight to Hidan and Kakuzu as he lifted Itachi into his arms. Without waking up, the weasel grabbed a hold of Kisame's shirt and pressed his face against the cloth as he lovingly got carried into the bedroom.

The room was just as quiet as it'd been before Hidan and Kakuzu became the only one left. They still remained in the same position as earlier, neither of them even thinking about withdrawing from their place. The wind still breezed by the window, now and then disturbing the pleasant cracking sound the fire yet managed to make. Maybe it was just imagination, but he could swear the feeling of Kakuzu's heart beating steady against his back caused Hidan's own heart to pick up its speed.

"Kakuzu… " Hidan mumbled after some time, while staring in to the dancing flames.

"Hmm?"

"All the dammed rooms are taken." He muttered without removing his attention from the fire.  
Kakuzu didn't give an immediate respond but waited a couple of seconds before he smirked to himself. "You have something against sharing the living room with me?" He mumbled while discreetly stirring closer to Hidan's neck.

"And what is that suppose to…" His voice stopped when he felt Kakuzu unusually kindly place his hand on Hidan's cheek, only to turn them face to face.

Hidan was well aware of the fact that all this warmth would prevent him to resist Kakuzu's gentle movements. Judging by his nature, resisting was his most common action. Although judging by his heart, these moments were what he truly longed for. A light blush soon covered his cheeks and the jashinist closed his eyes while the other man slowly joined their lips together in a light kiss. Kakuzu's lips were warm and more arousing then Hidan had remembered them. It had been a while since Kakuzu last kissed him.

He repeated the action numerous times, slowly placing soft kisses on Hidan's lips before he moved over to kiss his jaw line, travelling all the way to his ear. The jashinist was rather stunned by how devoutly Kakuzu chose to caress him. Their touches was always so violent, not that Hidan didn't enjoy it, in matter of fact he loved every single second of it. Yet this time was so different. Hidan couldn't stop himself from whimpering when Kakuzu's warm mouth caught his earlobe and seducingly started to suck on it.

"Kakuzu…" Hidan whispered as his lover traced his tongue along the shape of Hidan's ear, once more causing the jashinist to flush madly. Kakuzu smirked; he already had all of Hidan's weak points figured out.

"Is something wrong?" Kakuzu's dark seme-ish voice whispered into Hidan's ear, creating a massive amount of butterflies in Hidan's stomach as the smaller man's body became stiff.

"Not really, I was just wondering when you're gonna slam me to the floor and rape me brutally?" Hidan said in a kind off sarcastic voice even though his statement was more than serious. If the tanned man continued this he would turn crazy. What he didn't except was the strange reaction from Kakuzu. The tanned man combined a growl with a sigh as he got up from the floor and laid himself down on the couch, leaving Hidan rejected on the floor. The jashinist quickly turned his head around in his direction, wide-eyed.

"Fine, you can have your un-loving relationship and sleep on the floor." Kakuzu closed his eyes bitterly.

The coldness caused something inside the jashinist to hurt. Hidan's gaze sank a bit as he got up to his feet. It wasn't his intention to make Kakuzu act like that. Sure, the tenderness had been a bit odd from their usual behavior but he obviously hadn't hated it.

The gloomy abandoned teen slowly crawled up on top of Kakuzu, resting his head right under the larger one's chin as he placed his hand over the warm chest. They always pissed each other around but when they actually fought like this Hidan couldn't help but feel miserable.

"Sorry…" He whispered. A cold hard wave of rejection made his heart sting when Kakuzu didn't bother to respond. Sadly he hid his face in the other man's neck as he fought to keep his breathing balanced. "Come on…" He pleaded while his fingers clutched into the fabric of his shirt. "I said I'm sorry. I don't want an un-loving relationship, come on. I loved that affection, it was wonderful. Please, I want you to do it again, I confess. What more do you ask?"

Kakuzu stopped Hidan's desperate blathering by pinning him down to couch, hugging him closely, breathing in the smell of his hair. The jashinist heart suddenly warmed up again as his arm's enfolded around Kakuzu's neck, his mouth slowly forming a small smile.

"So, can you make up your mind?" Kakuzu whispered into the pale-skinned neck.

"Kiss me…" The silver-haired one silently asked. Kakuzu obeyed his wish and passionately kissed his lips. The kiss was deep, so deep Hidan felt like it was the most amazing kiss he'd even received from Kakuzu. He dizzyingly looked in to the green eyes as soon as they parted, his lover gazing right back.

"Hidan…" Kakuzu whispered while his hand travelled up under the jashinist shirt, lovingly caressing his torso with his long fingers. "I don't care what you say; tonight, I'm going to love you fondly." He smirked and once again filled Hidan's heart with heat. The jashinist returned the gesture and smiled back up at Kakuzu.

"Yeah, please do."  
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End file.
